Haverling officials preparing new building proposal
BY ROB PRICE THE COURIE-ADVOCATE

BATH - Haverling school officials are in the final planning stages of a capital project proposal that could go before district voters in December, according to school district Superintendent Marion Tunney.

The plan, with an estimated preliminary cost of $18 million, would be financed through a combination of state building aid and the New York state EXCEL program and have only a small impact on individual property taxes, Tunney told The Courier Wednesday.

Estimates by the school district's financial advisor, Bernard Donegan, project a property tax impact of about four cents per $1,000 of market value, according to Tunney. "Bernie tends to be very conservative," she said, adding the final tax impact - if voters approve the project - could be even less than four cents per $1,000 of true value.

A four cent increase would add $2 to the annual tax bill for a home valued at $50,000.

The EXCEL program - an acronym for Expanding our Children's Education and Learning - was created by the New York state legislature in 2006 and helps school districts pay for capital needs with little local tax impact. EXCEL funds may be used for:

• Education technology

• Health and safety improvements

• Handicapped accessibility improvements

• Expansion or school construction

• Energy-saving improvements.

School board President William vonHagn Wednesday said the new capital project would address some "antiquated, worn out" areas of the school campus, including old locker rooms in the newly designed Middle School, that were not part of the district's 2001-2003 capital project.

"A lot of these things were engineered out of that project to save money," vonHagn said.

Working with its engineering firm, Hunt Engineers, the board has focused the prospective building project on the following areas:

• Roof renovation

• Plumbing, heating and air conditioning in buildings not involved in the district's last capital project

• Renovations to the lobby of the Middle School

• Expansion of sixth grade classrooms that currently do not meet state education code

• Renovations to the school auditorium, specifically in stage rigging and sound systems.

Tunney said Wednesday the board may approve the final outlines of the capital project when it meets again Sept. 12. "We're close," she said.

Wednesday evening, Haverling school board members interviewed three potential candidates who have applied for the construction management position: Bovis Lend Lease, Inc., of New York; Welliver McGuire Inc., of Montour Falls; and LeChase Construction Services LLC, of Rochester.