• August 9, 2024

    Dear Parents, Students, Faculty, Staff, and Community Members,

    I hope that things are good with you and your family.  We continue to work hard as we prepare for the new school year and we are starting to get excited about the return of students to school.  However, there is still a lot of summer left, so please consider this simply an update on what is happening in the district right now.

    On Wednesday night, the board met for their first of two August meetings.  This link will allow you to watch the meeting in its entirety.  Most of the items below were discussed at the board meeting.

    Capital Project Update

    At the school board meeting on Wednesday night, our architectural firm, H2M, gave a presentation on the proposed capital project.  The project has been discussed at great length over the last year or so by the district facilities committee.  Through their efforts, the H2M presentation was able to break down the proposed changes and updates into three groups as well as a list of other items that might be considered for inclusion in options 1-3.

    Before you read these options, it is very important for you to know that the board has not yet discussed these ideas at any great length.  They will have their first substantive discussion on this topic at the August 21st board meeting.  So, if you see an item in options 1-3 that really excites you, please realize that the board may decide to remove this option and the voters will not have an opportunity to vote on it.  The same is true for items on the list that you might dislike.  It is possible that the board will feel the same way and these items will be removed before the anticipated vote in December.  

    By the first board meeting in September, the board will endeavor to fine tune these options into a plan that is fiscally responsible, that meets the needs of the district, and that they feel are reasonable options that the community would now be able to vote for or against.

     

     Priority 1 items are related to safety and the efficient running of the school district.

    Proposition # 1

    The total cost of the items on this list is $17,878,249.  Many of these updates are not glamorous or exciting, but they are necessary.  That is why it is likely that when the board discusses the capital project at the school board meeting on August 21st, they might determine that proposition #1 must pass in order for later propositions to pass.

     

     

     

     

    Proposition #2 includes mostly updates to athletic facilities and AV items for the MS Auditorium.

    Proposition # 2

    As mentioned, it is likely that proposition #2 ($10,577424) will not be allowed to pass unless Proposition #1 passes.  Again, please remember that some items may be removed and some items may be added before voters have a chance to give their opinion on this option.

    In some cases, the H2M presentation also included annual maintenance costs.  For example, the estimated cost to maintain a rubber turf field is about $8,000 per year.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Proposition #3 contains one item, an aquatics center that would be connected to the back of the high school.  The estimated total cost of this aquatics center is $19,000,000.

    The yearly maintenance cost of running and maintaining the pool would be about $17,000 per year.  Additional staff including life guards, swim instructors, and possibly maintenance staff  would have to be hired.  The amount of new staffing would depend in part on how often the pool was being used.  As you can see, H2M gave a yearly staffing estimate of up to $100,000.  

    Again, the board has not yet fully discussed the idea of putting an aquatics center up for vote.  They will do so on August 21st.  It is likely that option 1 would have to pass in order for option 3 to pass.

    As you can see, the amount of money everything in options 1-3 would cost adds up quickly!

    And yet, there are still more items that could be added.  In particular, air conditioning in our schools has been talked about a great deal lately as the number of really hot days seems to be increasing.  Therefore, we asked H2M to price out the cost of adding  air conditioning to all rooms in all four schools, as well as pricing out just large group areas such as the high school auditorium, the middle school auditorium, and the Duzine gymnasium.  Here are some numbers that might be of interest to you:

    AC in the High School Auditorium >>> $1,510,080  

    ($10,000 per year added electrical/maintenance costs)

    AC in the Middle School Auditorium >>> $1,372,800  

    ($10,000 per year added electrical/maintenance costs)

    AC in the Duzine Gymnasium >>> $!,304,160  

    ($7,500 per year added electrical/maintenance costs)

    AC throughout all four buildings  >>>  $26,769,600

    ($250,000 per year added electrical/maintenance costs)

    In addition to discussing all of the items in the first three options, the board will also have to decide whether or not they want to add some level of air conditioning to the project.  In particular, they will have to decide if they want to add no air conditioning, if they want to add air conditioning just to the large group areas so students have a place to go if it is hot, or if they want to put air conditioning everywhere in the buildings.  If they decide to add some level of air conditioning, they will have to decide which option(s) to put it in.

    As mentioned, the board has made no decisions yet on any of this.  They have not even officially decided to put any capital project up for a vote in the near future.  However, some of these items are so crucial that we must do something soon to address our aging infrastructure.

    The board has appreciated the comments they have gotten so far and they are happy to hear anything else the community has to say before their discussion on August 21st.  If there is anything you would like the board to know, please send your comments my way and I will share them with them.

     

     

     

     

    Electric Bus Purchase

    At the board meeting on Wednesday night, the board also endorsed the plan to buy an electric bus and charger instead of a previously approved diesel bus.  

    Diesel and gas buses are not cheap.  We appreciated the voters approving these expenses for this year:

    The cost of electric buses is way more expensive.  However, there are grants available that will allow us to buy a 48 passenger electric bus and charger for slightly more than the cost of a 65 passenger diesel bus:

    While $25,501 is not an insignificant cost to add to our extremely tight budget, we believe we can recoup a large portion of this cost by buying a new Durano instead of the previously approved Suburban.  We will also save a little bit of money on diesel fuel.

    The board was pleased with this proposal.  They felt it was a good step to take in order to gain some experience with electric buses as we prepare for a complete electrification of our bus fleet by 2035 as required by NYS law.

    We will now proceed with all haste to take the necessary steps to add the ev bus to our fleet by early fall.  The plan will be to start it off on one of our shortest runs so that we will not have to take time to charge it between the morning and afternoon bus runs.  If all goes well, we will possibly move it to a longer run later to save money and to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

    Cell Phones

    There is a lot of discussion right now nationwide about the use of cell phones in schools.  At this point, cell phones can not be used by students during the day in the New Paltz elementary or middle school buildings.  NP High School students can use cell phones in common areas or in classrooms where teachers allow them to use phones for educational purposes.

    Governor Hochul is currently doing a “listening tour” regarding cell phone usage at schools throughout the state.  She has made it clear that she is considering banning cell phones in schools throughout the state, although she recently postponed her decision until at least January.

    It is important for you to know that your school board is aware of the current cell phone situation and the concerns being expressed by teachers and parents. The board will be looking into the matter further and it is likely that they will have an extended discussion on this topic at a board meeting in early October.

    Continuing Education Program

    I want to give a quick thank you to all of the community members who have offered to teach/oversee some sort of activity during the upcoming inaugural continuing education program scheduled to run from September - November.

    We are currently making final decisions about the offerings we feel we can put forward.  We are working on the brochure which will be brought to the school board on August 21st for final approval at the board.  At that point, the catalog with classes and instructions on how to sign up for these classes will be shared with everyone.  We have a lot of great offerings and we look forward to your participation.

    Demolition of the Old District Office

    Things have not proceeded as quickly as possible (they rarely do).  The asbestos abatement firm that Stamford Wrecking Company originally contracted with backed out of their contract.  A new asbestos abatement firm has been selected, but we lost over a week in the process.  Stamford Wrecking Company still assures us that the building will be down and the parking lot will be in a usable state before school starts.

    Tax Levy Approved

    A lot of business was conducted at the board meeting on Wednesday night.  One item that might get lost in the shuffle is the fact that the board officially approved the 2024-2025 tax levy of $49,346,699.  This means that the board officially endorsed what the voters decided in May, which is that  the school will take $49,347,699 of school taxes out of the New Paltz community to pay for the operation of the school for this school year.

    This is not exactly new news, but it is important.  We realize that paying taxes is not fun or easy.  I just want to again thank all of the New Paltz tax payers for their continued support of our outstanding school, financially, and in a myriad of other ways.  We could not do it without you.

    Best Wishes,

    Stephen Gratto - Superintendent