ROTTERDAM Districts planning capital projects Schalmont eyes $9.7M plan; Mohonasen also sets vote BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net
Over the years, the original structure of Schalmont High School hasn’t changed much. The building is largely the same as when the district was first formed in 1957. But today, the heating system is ineffective, its many single-pane windows are drafty and the roof leaks. District officials are hoping to resolve many of these problems and others at older buildings with a $9.7 million capital project funded primarily through state building aid. The district plans to use this aid in addition to Schalmont’s $676,811 in state EXCEL funding and its income from renting space at the former Schonowe School to reduce the taxpayer share of the project to about 28 percent. Members of the Board of Education approved a resolution Monday to send the project to a referendum Oct. 16. If approved by voters, the project would spread out the local share over 15 years, with the fi rst payment coming during the 2009-2010 school year. Rotterdam’s other school district will also pitch a capital project to voters this fall. Members of the Mohonasen Board of Education also approved a resolution Monday, sending a $19.9 million renovation project to referendum vote on the same day as Schalmont’s. Schalmont residents owning a $100,000 property and with a tax bill of $1,700 would pay an additional $3.40 per year, reflecting a 0.2 percent increase. Superintendent Valerie Kelsey said the district will now launch an informational campaign about the project. “Capital projects like this can be a cost-effective way to maintain school facilities, but we always want to be mindful of the goals of this community as a whole,” she said Monday. The proposal represents the largest capital project put out to Schalmont voters since the referendum in June 2000, where residents approved more than $32 million worth of improvements at all of the district’s buildings. Kelsey said many of the items addressed in the referendum this fall are areas left over. The most costly work included in the project is a $3.1 million reconstruction project to replace the high school’s original classroom heating and ventilation system. Other bigticket items include a $1,4 million to replace windows and $1.06 million to install smaller, more efficient boilers. The high school’s bathrooms would be updated under the project, which allocates $150,000 to bring them up to modern standards. The project also proposes a $467,000 reconstruction of the cafeteria. Also proposed is a $557,000 project to complete the parking lot and road near the high school athletic fields. Additionally, $778,000 would go toward improving the condition and drainage issues in the bus loop area. About $503,000 worth of the project would be devoted to improving areas of the middle school, including the building’s buckled gym floor and siding. The project would fund $372,000 worth of energy efficiency improvements at the Schonowe building, which is now leased out.
I don't mind paying school taxes. Really. I think that the school district in a community should be the communities crown and glory. A community should take pride in their school. And the school should make them proud. It doesn't go one way either.
The teachers should work hard for their pay. Parents should be involved in their kids education. And kids should be respectful and put forth and effort to learn.
And it doesn't matter how much money you throw at a school, without these 3 ingredients, a school and it's community will never reach it's full potential.
Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil, The Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.
The only problem I have with the increasing school taxes every year is when all the extra taxes collected goes to paying teachers salary's and none goes to improving education for the kids. When people in a school district are not getting their salary increased as fast as the school districts needs it puts a real hardship on the parents who are paying the bills. School districts have got to hold down their budgets and ease the burden on the tax payers because they are at their limit and can't afford any more tax increases by the school, town, or state.
I totally agree with you on this one shadow....And I would also say that the teacher's unions are killing us. Putting that aside, we are so friggin' over taxed in NY, it would be really smart to dump some of these stupid government 'hand out' programs to ease the burden on the taxpayer. Sorry folks, but I don't like to receive hand out and I surely don't like giving them out. But somehow, I have lost control over that. The government took that control away and it's killin' us.
Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil, The Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Main Entry: ed·u·ca·tion Pronunciation: \ˌe-jə-ˈkā-shən\ Function: noun Date: 1531 1 a: the action or process of educating or of being educated; also : a stage of such a process b: the knowledge and development resulting from an educational process 2: the field of study that deals mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools — ed·u·ca·tion·al \-shnəl, -shə-nəl\ adjective — ed·u·ca·tion·al·ly \-ē\ adverb
The process IS more than just the teachers....and,,,I see a very very troubling movement in schools.....parents are being left out or told to stay out for the sake of the kids safety....our schools have become 'mental institutions'...they have metal detectors, officers, psycologist/psychiatrists, and all that other stuff.....our public schools have become fortresses....all in the name of irrational fear.....if there is a tight community there is a safe school....are there nuts in the community---of course there are.....THIS IS NOT MINORITY REPORT........and we are NOT mice....
When I was in school I remember parents coming into school and actually DEFENDING their childs behavior and berating teachers and leaders in front of their kids.....hhhhmmmm.....where is the authority????.....that's right we removed it, it cant even be used as literature.....but, I remember a whole semester of Buddhism.....
As for education---I get a big education just talking with the elderly folks in the nursing home.....it is a wonderful study on psycology and sociology, religion, families, government etc.........
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
One-Time-Only EXCEL State Grant to Help Fund Bond 2007 $9.7 million capital project vote on Tuesday, Oct. 16
A good education lasts a lifetime, but school facilities tend not to have the same longevity. So, district officials are proposing a $9,713,000 renovation and reconstruction project designed to extend the life and usefulness of facilities at the Schalmont High/Middle Schools complex and Schonowe School.
Bond 2007 would make use of one-time-only state funds, building aid and rental income (at Schonowe) to keep the anticipated impact at an increase of 2/10 of 1 percent (0.2%) in the amount of money that the district collects from local taxpayers (i.e., school tax levy) beginning in the 2009-2010 school year.
How might this play out for an individual district resident? As an example, a home now valued at $100,000 with a school tax bill of $1,700 should see an increase in the school tax bill of $3.40 with the passage of the bond. So in this example, the school tax rate for this home would increase by less than 3.5 cents per $1,000 of home value.
A good education lasts a lifetime, but school facilities tend not to have the same longevity. So, district officials are proposing a $9,713,000 renovation and reconstruction project designed to extend the life and usefulness of facilities at the Schalmont High/Middle Schools complex and Schonowe School.
Bond 2007 would make use of one-time-only state funds, building aid and rental income (at Schonowe) to keep the anticipated impact at an increase of 2/10 of 1 percent (0.2%) in the amount of money that the district collects from local taxpayers (i.e., school tax levy) beginning in the 2009-2010 school year.
How might this play out for an individual district resident? As an example, a home now valued at $100,000 with a school tax bill of $1,700 should see an increase in the school tax bill of $3.40 with the passage of the bond. So in this example, the school tax rate for this home would increase by less than 3.5 cents per $1,000 of home value.
District residents can vote on this capital project proposal on Tuesday, Oct. 16, from 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. in the Schalmont High School New Gym foyer.
The coming referendum was significantly influenced by a report delivered by the Schalmont Facilities Committee last fall. This volunteer group of community members was tasked with reviewing the condition of all school facilities and grounds to create a list of renovation, construction and ongoing maintenance recommendations.
Superintendent Valerie Kelsey said, "The school board and I are very grateful for the committee’s input on this bond project. The members not only have years of experience in relevant fields, but they’re also members of this community. So, they have a vested interest in doing right by Schalmont families."
Schalmont Board of Education members and administrators considered the committee’s feedback, education goals for the district and community members’ comments when coming up with projects proposed in Bond 2007. Most projects address problems at the high school – primarily in the original 1957 wing – and middle school that were not addressed with Bond 2000. One project would address issues at Schonowe, a facility owned and rented out by the district.
By addressing the aging of school facilities, these projects will:
Increase student safety and comfort,
Increase cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency in the district, and
Improve the appearance and usefulness of school facilities.
Click on the links below to learn more about Bond 2007:
And let's remember, there's no such thing as free money. They have to get the taxes from somewhere...it all just depends on how far is spread. Hey, Mr. McNulty, thanks for the $1.4 M that you got for Schenectady Central Schools...Where's Schalmont's? Where's Mohonasen's? Where's Albany's? Where's Schoharie's?
Schamont School vote set State aid expected to cover most of $9.7 million renovation project
By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer First published: Tuesday, September 25, 2007
ROTTERDAM -- Schalmont Central Schools is looking to cash in on millions in state aid to cover a huge chunk of a $9.7 million capital facilities project voters in the district must approve. A referendum vote on the renovation and reconstruction project is scheduled to be held from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 16 in the Schalmont High School New Gym foyer, 1 Sabre Drive. Taxpayer approval would lead to the district taking out bonds to cover the project's cost.
Residents living in this district would see a less than 1 percent increase -- 0.2 percent -- in the school tax levy beginning in the 2009-2010 school year.
"This is more about ongoing facilities maintenance," said the school district's communications specialist Melissa Sweeney, noting most of the work will transform the original 1957 wing of Schalmont High School.
If approved by voters, the bond projects would get under way in 2009 and should be completed within a year, said school officials.
Big ticket items in that part of the building, include $3.1 million alone for a new heating and ventilation system, $1.5 million to change the original single window panes and $1.1 million to replace outmoded steam boilers.
School officials say the upgrades will make students safer, the district more energy-efficient and give the district a face lift.
A combination of state funding and rental income would cover about 71 percent of the bonded cost, said school officials.
Schalmont would be responsible for raising the rest of the amount and accomplish this, school officials say, by hiking the school tax levy by just under $50,000, spread over 15 years.
A homeowner in the district with a residence assessed at $100,000, paying a school tax bill of $1,700 would pay about $3.40 more beginning with the 2009-2010 school year.
Anyone wanting to learn more about the bond proposal can attend an information session at 5:45 p.m. today at Schalmont Middle School's LGI Room, 2 Sabre Drive. Those in attendance will also have a chance to tour some of the facilities where the work is slated to take place.
Paul Nelson can be reached at 454-5347 or by e-mail at pnelson@timesunion.com.
To learn moreAn information session on the facilities bond proposal is scheduled at 5:45 p.m. today at Schalmont Middle School's LGI Room, 2 Sabre Drive. Voting on the renovation and reconstruction project is scheduled from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 16.
So, they want to have you come in and show you what the money you decided to start giving to the school 7 years ago didn't do. You can see the wonderfully large expansion that wasn't needed, the windows that wouldn't hold heat in (just like they wouldn't hold it in back in the 80's), and oh, yeah, they're looking to blow a lot of hot air.
Quoted Text
Big ticket items in that part of the building, include $3.1 million alone for a new heating and ventilation system, $1.5 million to change the original single window panes and $1.1 million to replace outmoded steam boilers.
Good thing Superintendant Valerie Kelsey never got back to me last year when my son was one of MANY children that were hurt in the gym either due to the flooring (which they conveniently threw into this project) or poor supervision by the teachers.
Quoted Text
A combination of state funding and rental income would cover about 71 percent of the bonded cost, said school officials.
Schalmont would be responsible for raising the rest of the amount and accomplish this, school officials say, by hiking the school tax levy by just under $50,000, spread over 15 years.
Sate funding...sounds like tax money to me. So, you want to raise taxes on a state level and a local level, and we already pay how much more than Mohonasen, who knows how to take care of their issues when they come up?
Proud Rotterdam Resident Proud Patriot Proud Conservative Republican Proud Christian
I believe, and I could be wrong here, but Mohonasen has a larger population than the Schalmont School district. Also, Mohonasen is very very pro-active on having events to raise money. Example is the Strawberry Festival, that has become an annual event, to raise money for their music department. Which has proven to be very successful. I don't see this with Schalmont. Schalmont is a good school but needs to get with the present day programs. It's not that little country school any longer. And if Rt 7 does develop, it should help the tax base.
Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil, The Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.
I believe, and I could be wrong here, but Mohonasen has a larger population than the Schalmont School district. Also, Mohonasen is very very pro-active on having events to raise money. Example is the Strawberry Festival, that has become an annual event, to raise money for their music department. Which has proven to be very successful. I don't see this with Schalmont. Schalmont is a good school but needs to get with the present day programs. It's not that little country school any longer. And if Rt 7 does develop, it should help the tax base.
I agree, and that's exactly why I want to see some sort of activity as far as development on the west side of town. I didn't even realize how high my bill was before.
Proud Rotterdam Resident Proud Patriot Proud Conservative Republican Proud Christian
Hey, Schalmont School District taxpayers, what time is it? Time to get out and vote on the district’s referendum on renovation and reconstruction projects. District officials are proposing a $9.713 million renovation and reconstruction project designed to extend the life of facilities at the high and middle school complex and Schonowe School. The district would make use of onetime-only state funds (building aid) and rental income at Schonowe to keep the anticipated impact on the tax levy to an increase of two-tenths of 1 percent, beginning in the 2009-2010 school year. The increase would remain for 15 years until the bond financing is paid off. You can almost be assured that your school taxes will increase several times over that 15-year time frame. That same two-tenths will take a larger chunk as your tax bill increases over the years. Put Oct. 16 on your calendar and vote between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. at the Schalmont High new gym foyer. SHARON THATCHER Rotterdam Junction
Maybe it's time to send these school districts a message that the tax payers pockets aren't bottomless pits that they can just keep digging into every time they need money.
Here's a letter that I just sent to the opinion page of the Gazette.
Quoted Text
From: March, Kevin Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 2:21 PM To: 'opinion@dailygazette.com' Subject: School Budget Votes 10/16/07
For your opinion page.
It is very important that all the people today of Rotterdam get out and vote. For both Mohonasen and Schalmont, we have votes to upgrade our schools on Tuesday.
Please remember that at Schalmont, we already went to the polls 7 years ago because the School Board saw that it was necessary to build on to the Middle School, almost doubling the size of the school, adding a new gymnasium onto the High School and various other projects.
At that time, they did not look ahead to the issues that they are asking you to go and vote to approve them to spend more money out of your pocket. Would building onto a school increase the price of heating the school over the year? Well, I would say that every year since I can remember, the school year has run through the winter. They couldn't have thought about this 7 years ago? So, when this bond is in the middle of being paid off by the Schalmont residents, what ELSE are they going to find that needs to be fixed that they want us to come out and vote to give them more of our paychecks?
It's time to start reigning in the costs at the school. I say take the money that has been promised to you via the state, since this is tax money that has already been taken from us. Fix what you can with that. Let's not take more money from the residents. We already pay enough.
The school says that for a $100,000 home, this will "only cost" you another $3.50. That is on top of the $1700 you're already paying. So. what's another drop in the bucket? Maybe this will be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Kevin March Rotterdam
Please feel free to post my e-mail address as part of the letter.
Proud Rotterdam Resident Proud Patriot Proud Conservative Republican Proud Christian
ROTTERDAM Voters to weigh in on major school projects Mohonasen, Schalmont: Work must be done BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
School officials from the Mohonasen and Schalmont districts are hoping voters will head to the polls today with preventive maintenance on their minds. Both districts are conducting referenda for projects largely funded through the state’s EXCEL aid. Schalmont’s planned $9.7 million capital project will require a 28 percent contribution from taxpayers; Mohonasen’s $21.8 million project will require no additional tax levy. The work must be done, offi cials from each district said. Waiting any longer on the improvements could end up costing taxpayers even more in the future, said Schalmont Superintendent Valerie Kelsey. “It’s things that need to be done,” she said. “It’s better to deal with it under a plan than deal with it in a crisis situation.” In Schalmont big-ticket improvements include $3.1 million to replace the high school’s original classroom heating and ventilation system, which is now more than 50 years old. Other large items include $1.4 million to replace windows and $1.06 million to install smaller, more efficient boilers. The high school’s bathrooms would be updated under the project, which allocates $150,000 to bring them up to modern standards. The project also proposes a $467,000 reconstruction of the cafeteria. Kelsey said the overall impact on taxpayers would be around 3.4 cents per $1,000 of property value. Schalmont residents owning a $100,000 property and with a tax bill of $1,700 would pay an additional $3.40 per year, reflecting a 0.2 percent increase. “We’re hoping people see this is a good solid project and they’ll be supportive,” she said. In the Mohonasen district, school officials plan to use $1.09 million received this year in state EXCEL aid as the local share of the building project. The project would be covered under an existing 95 percent building aid formula through the state, which would allow the district to spend up to $21 million. “For us, the EXCEL vote is at no cost to taxpayers,” said Superintendent Kathleen Spring. “If it doesn’t get approved in this bond referendum, at some point there will be a cost.” The project proposes a new fi ne arts wing near the Farnsworth Technology Center, creating three art rooms, one classroom and an art gallery. The Draper Middle School would receive a new roof. Schalmont residents can cast their votes between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. outside the high school gymnasium. Mohonasen residents can vote between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the high school gym.
ROTTERDAM Mohonasen, Schalmont OK rehab projects BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net
Mohonasen and Schalmont voters passed school district referenda Tuesday to finance capital projects to improve school facilities. Schalmont voters narrowly approved a $9.7 million project by 445 to 386. The project will require a 28 percent contribution from taxpayers, something that was commented on as voters left the polls. Superintendent Valerie Kelsey said a number of residents were vocal about their dismay over apparent increases in their school taxes. She said some people indicated they voted against the proposal because of the town-wide revaluation. “For sure, people did express that they had voted no because of the reval,” she said. “That was very clear at the exit polls.” In contrast, Mohonasen voters strongly approved a $21.8 million project requiring no additional tax levy. Voters approved the referendum 1,369 in favor and 160 against, district officials said. Superintendent Kathleen Spring said she was surprised by the level of people who turned out, but not necessarily by the results. She said the district made it clear to voters the need for the improvements. “We really made an effort to get people out to vote,” she said. “People were saying at no cost, we need to do this.” The cost of Mohonasen’s project was offset by $1.09 million the district received this year in state EXCEL aid, which will be used as the local share of the building cost. The project is also covered under an existing 95 percent building aid formula through the state, allowing the district to spend up to $21 million. In addition to various infrastructure improvements throughout the district, the Mohonasen project will add a new fine arts wing near the Farnsworth Technology Center, creating three art rooms, one classroom and an art gallery. The Draper Middle School will also receive a new roof. Schalmont’s project also makes use of state EXCEL and building aid, as well as the rental income generated from the former Schonowe school. The anticipated impact on the tax levy is 0.2 percent starting during the 2009-2010 school year. Schalmont’s big-ticket improvements include $3.1 million to replace the high school’s original classroom heating and ventilation system, which is now more than 50 years old. Other large items include $1.4 million to replace windows and $1.06 million to install smaller, more efficient boilers. The high school’s bathrooms would be updated under the project, which allocates $150,000 to bring them up to modern standards. The project also proposes a $467,000 reconstruction of the cafeteria. “We greatly appreciate the support of our community,” Kelsey said of the vote.
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