Capital Improvement Project for Bath school to be held the 19th

Everyone's life is a whirlwind these days. There is hardly enough time to take care of the necessities. Public meetings may not entice you to come out into the cold of March to hear about a Capital Improvement Project. That's very understandable. Taking the time to read through a school district newsletter is probably not high on your list either, particularly if you do not have children or grandchildren attending Haverling at this time. But, the district wants to ensure that you have every opportunity to get the correct information to make a decision before you vote March 19 on the revised Haverling School Capital Improvement Project.

The Capital Improvement Project put before the voters for approval on March 19 is the result of many months of study and deliberation by the Buildings and Grounds Committee of the Board of Education which resulted in recommendations to the Board. The Board worked with staff and financial advisors to further delineate the project. We had several goals in mind as the process unfurled: to maintain and protect our assets, to improve safety conditions for all on school property, and to address instructional needs, while remaining good stewards of the taxpayers trust.

The current project will be fully funded through 1) State Building Aid, 2) EXCEL Aid, and 3) the District's Capital Reserve. Through this funding there will be no impact to Bath Central School taxes for this project. 1) Our Building Aid Ratio, which would be locked in at the time of a positive referendum is currently 93.8%. The state tries to balance out the cost to the taxpayer with the ability to pay. 2) EXCEL aid has been given to all school districts to be used to make schools more energy efficient, to upgrade technology infrastructure, to improve instructional space, make spaces handicapped accessible, or to improve health and safety for the district. 3) The District's Capital Reserve was an account established by voter referendum in 1999. This money can only be used to assist in a capital project to offset an increase in tax rate. This will be used to cover the costs remaining after the State Building and EXCEL Aids are used.

If you are interested in seeing the items included in the project, you may go to the website at www.bathcsd.org and look at the March Newsletter for a detailed explanation of the changes proposed. The only increase in the "footprint" of the buildings is the increase in the gymnasium at VEW Primary School. All of the improvements are for the current and future students of the community, but will also benefit staff and visitors to the campus.

Many of the items in this project are related to making repairs now so that your taxes will not have to be raised for the repair work. For example: the roof on much of the older parts of the buildings clearly needs to be replaced. If we do this through this Capital Improvement Project, the cost has no tax impact. If however there is no project and the roof collapses, the local taxpayer will bear the entire cost- approximately $ 800,000 or the equivalent of an 11% tax rate increase.

We can be proud of our Haverling School facilities, but we need to maintain them on a regular basis. Our students deserve a pleasant and comfortable environment to learn and grow. The public should be able to hear the lines of the well rehearsed Senior Play that entertains us each spring and the band director should not have to sidestep dripping water to stand on the podium to direct. The new athletic complex has brought many sectional competitions to the area. Many visitors from other communities compliment us on the new pool and gymnasium. Their use of our buildings generates a small profit for the district which offsets some of the costs for maintaining the athletic program. Their visits also benefit the community as the weekends of these events our local restaurants are full to bursting, the local motels are busy, and retail shops in town experience a higher volume of business as well. Give us permission to keep the district's assets in the best shape possible without raising your local taxes to do it.

This vote will not be held in the school auditorium as it had previously. Instead, please come to the District Office on March 19th between noon and 8 p.m. to cast your vote. We will have directions posted and parking areas reserved for your convenience.