Target Bond Referendum Date Pushed Back to January

The proposed $66 million bond referendum for the Scarsdale Schools, previously targeted for December 14, 2017 will be pushed back until next year, allowing time for a Greenacres Neighborhood Association Meeting on Thursday October 19, a public forum on November 6, review of SEQRA findings on November 13 leading to a board vote on the resolution on November 27.

At the October 16 meeting of the Board of Education, instead of a Board vote on the proposed referendum, Assistant Superintendent gave an update on recommendations from the Greenacres Building Committee on the proposed project at Greenacres.

He announced some proposed changes to the scope of the project based on the outcome of committee discussions.

Here are the recommendations for additions to the work:

Additional air monitoring during construction: $140K

Noise monitoring during construction: $140 K

Construction of 20 spots for parallel parking in front of the school on Huntington Road: $597K

The renovation of nine small bathrooms in the classrooms and two large hall bathrooms: $530K

Temporary HEPA filtration for air intake: $35K

Temporary air conditioning in the library and old multi-purpose rooms: $169K

Security monitor: $140K

The addition of six temporary or modular classrooms to be built on the field across the street from the school. This would allow two grades to move out of the school if need be. These could be purchased at a cost of $1.92mm or possibly leased for less. Leasing would cost $475,000 for set up (in the bond) and approximately another $400,000 for rent that would come out of the school's annual budget. These costs will be confirmed by Mr. Mattey.

If the district does purchased the modulars, there might be possible uses for these structures after the construction is complete.

A second committee has been meeting about air conditioning and will make a recommendation to the administration on the installation of air conditioning in district schools soon. They are focusing on whether or not air conditioning should be installed, and if so, to what extent. They are also examining the use of other cooling methods such as ceiling fans.

Mattey also announced that testing for asbestos and lead has been done at Greenacres, and testing for air quality and mold will be done over the next few weeks. No asbestos was found, and out of 509 locations tested for lead, 15 spots were found. This will allow remediation to be done before construction begins.

Board members asked questions about air testing, asbestos abatement and lead. Mattey explained that though five or six areas of the school have been previously tested for mold, the entire building had not been tested so this was being done now as people continue to smell "mustiness." A board member questioned the decision not to replace the water and sanitary pipes in the building but was told that filters were in use for lead and that the sanitary pipes did not need to be replaced.

They debated the necessity for the modular units and discussed the options to purchase or lease them.

They also discussed the proposed energy performance contract which will allow the district to spend an additional $10.8 million on energy saving infrastructure needs such as boilers. The cost savings from these improvements will be guaranteed by an outside company and paid back to the district over the course of the contract.

Here are the most current numbers for the bond proposal:

Infrastructure:                   $29,541,461
Security Vestibules:               $708,246
Greenacres Renovation
and Expansion                  $33,240,430
Temporary Modulars           $1,500,000
Total Proposed Bond        $64,990,137

Energy Performance Contract: $10,862,686

Total Combined: $75,852,823

The Board of Education will meet again on Monday October 23 at 6:30 pm for a comprehensive review of the scope of proposed bond projects.