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Preliminary Elementary School Expansion Proposals Presented to Putnam Valley Board of Ed
Tour of area construction planned for Reconstituted Facilities Committee
by James Shearwood
Architect Russ Davidson presented two "conceptual options" for expanding the elementary school to the Putnam Valley Board of Education last Thursday evening, at a workshop session attended by about 30 community members in addition to the full Board.
Davidson, of the architectural firm of Kaeyer, Garment & Davidson of Mount Kisco, New York, said his firm had been originally asked to look at four options to relieve the overcrowding and upgrade the facilities at the elementary and middle schools.
But in meetings with the facilities committee of the Board of Education last spring, Davidson said he was directed to concentrate on proposals that keep the 5th grade at the elementary school site, and expand rather than replace the existing school on Oscawana Lake Road.
Davidson said the options that were discarded were to replace the elementary school entirely and to permanently house the 5th grade at the middle school.
Using new enrollment projections commissioned last spring, Davidson reported that the district should expect a 12% increase in its K-5 population in five years. The sketches presented to the Board show 7 classrooms for each grade level for a student population of 983. At the end of this past June, there were 824 students in Kindergarten through grade 5.
The two options presented to the Board were: a) expanding the existing elementary school to create a two-house plan or "schools within a school"; and b) building an" Early Childhood Learning Center" across from the playing fields on the right at the entrance to the elementary school property.
Both options would include upgrades to the systems in the existing elementary and middle schools.
As an example, Davidson said the elementary school needs a complete roof replacement, new electric and alarm systems, new ceilings, new doors, new lighting, handicapped access and a new heating and possibly cooling system. He said this winter a portable boiler would be parked next to the school, as the old boiler has failed.
Asked by community member Ed Rooney if the design included "green features," Davidson replied that photovoltaic panels were not yet cost-effective, but the roof would be constructed so they could be added. He said the new construction would be insulated above what is required by the energy code and use would be made of fresh air and natural daylight where possible.
The consensus of the meeting seemed to be that his firm should also look into geothermal heating and cooling, which the town is using at the high school and middle school campus. The elementary school currently employs window air-conditioning units for those offices and classrooms that are used in the warm months.
Option A, or the "schools within a school" plan, would add onto the building by creating a courtyard south of the existing cafeteria and a northwest wing. There would be, in effect, a K-2 school in the northwest part of the building and a 3-5 school in the southeast part of the building. A new entrance would be added to where the buses currently unload, music rooms would be consolidated and an expanded library would serve both schools.
Architect Davidson said "better school buildings make better students" and that smaller units have been "positively linked to better performance and security."
Option B, building a separate building for the lower grades, would still necessitate adding some classrooms to the existing school building.
The cost estimates are about $22 million for Option A and $24.7 million for Option B. Both plans would include $5.2 million for required infrastructure upgrades and about $3 million for alterations and upgrades at the middle school.
In response to an audience member’s question, Davidson said an entirely new building for the same K-5 school population would cost about $28 million.
The estimated cost to an average taxpayer in a full-assessment $300,000 home would be about $12.50 per year per million borrowed, according to Assistant Superintendent for Finance Paul Lee.
If the district borrowed $20 million for new facilities, the average taxpayer would pay about $250 per year, said Superintendent Gary Tutty.
Debt service on earlier construction at the middle school ends in two years, but the yearly payment, $110,000, would not have a significant impact, said Assistant Superintendent Lee.
The debt service on the $22.2 million borrowed for the high school is $1.9 million a year.
Lee said the district is using the current reimbursement formula of 43% in determining taxpayer cost, but the State could change that formula up or down.
State aid, said Lee, is determined by the wealth of the district against a statewide average. In determining wealth, the State takes into account the value of the property and the income of the citizens. (This is the reason the school district number is asked for on the State tax return.) Putnam Valley, said Lee, is about 25-27% wealthier than the State average.
Architect Davidson said the district was not alone in its construction needs. He said a debate on aid for school construction had been scheduled in Congress for September 12, 2001, but, obviously, that debate did not take place and "the money went elsewhere."
The facilities committee of the Board of Education met last spring to develop these proposals under the chairmanship of retiring Board member James Greenwood.
The committee will be reconstituted under the co-chairmanship of current Board members Rob Waechter and Patrick Bellino, to choose an option to present to the Board by the end of September.
The committee includes Elementary School Principal Jamie Edelman, Director of Operations Nick Bellantoni and interested parents and community members.
Davidson’s suggestion that he take committee members on a tour to other new construction in the area was accepted by the Board. It will be scheduled for a Saturday in September.
Davidson said that if a plan is chosen by the Board in December, the issue could go to the voters in January. If it is approved, construction could start in January 2005 and be completed by January 2006.
Asked about the difficulties of using a school while it is being renovated, Davidson said, "The students love it and the staff hates it."
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