Some 60 residents gathered at the Burns Avenue School on Monday, March 4 for a special meeting featuring Dr. Edward Finn, superintendent of Hicksville Schools. The purpose of the meeting, which was conducted by the NorthWest Civic Association, was to provide the community with an opportunity to ask questions and express concerns over the school district's proposed $41.8 million bond referendum. The bond is set to go up for public vote on Wednesday, March 20.

"We are looking at a series of projects that we've come to call 'Bridging the Centuries Through Structure and Construction'," said Finn. "The architect calls this a nuts and bolts kind of bond issue, largely dealing with structural issues."

The proposed bond, which can only be voted on as a whole, has been broken down into the following four categories:

If approved, 75 percent of the nearly $42 million bond will go toward facilities improvements and renovations. Projects allocated in this area of the bond include: new windows in all buildings, except the middle school; elevator upgrades and installation of air conditioning at the middle school, high school and administration building.

This area of the bond also includes the district-wide replacement of boilers, roofs, ceiling tiles and elementary school kitchens, as well as upgrading the telephone, public announcement and fire alarm systems, the re-keying of all doors (for purposes of security and for compliancy with the Americans for Disabilities Act), and new electrical and plumbing work, including wiring and toilets. The total cost of such facilities projects is estimated at approximately $31.5 million, of which $26.7 million is allocated for projects and another $4.7 million for fees and contingencies.

Items included in the instructional section of the bond include technology upgrades at the middle school and high school; district-wide renovations of the ball fields, two new science rooms and the construction of five tennis courts at the high school. Instructional projects equal 15 percent of the total bond and are estimated at $6.4 million, with nearly $1 million in fees and contingencies. Approximately 4.6 percent, or $1.9 million, has been allocated for new elevators at East Street, Lee Avenue and Woodland Schools, as well as for a pressbox/concession stand and new football field lighting at the high school and irrigation systems district-wide. The total cost of these projects is $1.7 million with nearly $200,000 in contingencies and fees.

The bond also calls for the district-wide replacement of fences, sidewalks and curbs and asphalt pavement. Such projects total 4.6 percent of the bond referendum and would cost an estimated $1.6 million plus nearly $300,000 in contingencies and fees.

Based on the interest rate of 5.375 percent, the final cost of the Hicksville School District's 15-year term bond is expected to cost a little over $64 million. For a home assessed at $6,000, the bond would cost taxpayers, before state aid, an additional $3.70 per $100 or an additional $16.85 a month or $202.17 a year.

With state aid, based on current state aid formulas, the cost to the taxpayer would be approximately $2.46 per $100 or $12.30 a month or $147.59 annually. The final cost would depend on assessments, the adjusted base proportions and state aid formulas.

Dr. Finn discussed the details of the bond, including specific items and cost estimates, to those present at the meeting. Questions were written on index cards and read by moderator John Ptacek. The following issues were addressed:

Moderator: Why the replacement of all boilers at all schools at one time? Finn: There are 26 boilers in the district, 20 of them were installed in the '50s and are the original equipment in the buildings. The other six were installed in the '60s. They are all towards the end of their life span. Forty, 50 years is the time we expect. Boilers tend to give major problems in maintenance so the proposal is to have them all replaced so we don't face boilers just breaking down totally and having to do emergency, unexpected replacements. Moderator: Why is it necessary to replace every inch of every fence at every school for $574,000, payback of $1,002,000? Finn: Many of the fences are in disrepair. There are some spots where we have recently installed fence so we are certainly not going to do that. The practicality of putting in whatever amount, 200 yards of new fence and then leaving 15 yards of old fence because it is in better condition than what we took out would have a very haphazard look for one and probably not be cost effective as you got into the work of splicing it together. Moderator: [Are the] irrigation [costs] for sprinkler systems for school lawns and all ball fields? Finn: Yes Moderator: What monies are needed to make earth science classrooms? Finn: The science rooms are listed at $400,000 for two rooms. Moderator: Is it true that there will be no heat in classrooms and the roofs will leak if the bond issue is defeated? Finn: I don't think that is true. We certainly would have boilers but the plan is to replace them before they stop [working]. Roofs, if there are leaks, we would repair those leaks in the roof. But there are points where there might be major replacement and we are trying to get ahead of things like that and do that before. Moderator: $100,000 was in the 2000-2001 budget for a new roof at Woodland School. Was the work done? If not, where is the money? Finn: The roof work was done on Woodland this summer. Moderator: If the bond issue doesn't go through, how will these repairs and updates to these buildings be funded? Finn: If a bond doesn't go through it is like the day after, or the weeks and months after any election. The only absolute solid information you have before you is the count of the votes. You try to put together what was behind the yes votes, the no votes and the proposal itself. In the extent of those things that need doing, they need doing, and the board and the community looks at the alternate ways of finance. The alternate ways would be to resubmit a bond, in whole or part, or to put items into the regular budget, in small pieces, large pieces, or a combination of both. If you broke it up over 10 years, you would have to go out and get 10 concessive votes. And instead of spending interest, you are spending inflation because the cost is now being based on today's prices. Moderator: Computers have a relatively short span, two to five years. Shouldn't these items be in the current budget and not allocated to long-term debt? Will we be paying for absolute computers for 15 years? If the bond is defeated, will the board [include] computer technology into the regular budget vote? Finn: We have had computer technology in the regular budget vote. Some things we've paid outright, Some, we've paid through a five-year borrowing. Because of the magnitude [of this project], cabling two very large buildings is a very large expense. By taking take advantage of bonding, we can maximize state aid. Moderator: If asbestos is found during the construction process do you have an idea of how long it would delay the operations? Finn: That depends on where it is found and the extent. There are items that can be handled simply...and there are other projects that require rather attentive work. The state understands that when you go into an area you find some unexpected things and has set up emergency procedures so that the paperwork moves quickly and experts are called in so there isn't a huge delay. Moderator: Has the district hired a public relations firm to sell the bond to the public? If so, what was the cost and how long was the term of the contract? Finn: The district hired a public information firm in order to make information available to the public. It is not engaged in selling. The cost, [which includes] more work than just the bond, is $3,500 a month and there is a six month contract. Moderator: What is the necessity of re-keying with computer cards all doors at a cost of $581,000? Can these locks be fitted in the existing doors or will new classroom doors, frames and electrical wiring be needed? Finn: It is not a proposal to replace the doors and door frames, it is just to replace the locks. The re-keying was an issue that [had] been stripped down to just do the high school because of the volume of teachers over the years. That issue was certainly heightened by 9-11, as many issues that [dealt with] security took on an added importance, and we brought back re-keying all the doors. These buildings have been here some 40, 50 years and there are a lot of duplicate keys around. We figured let's just do that while we are also installing ADA (Americans for Disabilities Act) compliant doorknobs. Moderator: There have been numerous window replacement projects at the cost of several million dollars over the past several years. Are these being replaced also? Finn: No. For instance the middle school had all new windows replaced and finished around 1999. That same type of window is in certain wings of some of the elementary schools. Those windows would not be replaced. Some of the buildings have original windows and those are the ones being replaced. Moderator: Who is going to be responsible for seeing that we don't...get charged $800 for a toilet seat? Finn: With a project of this magnitude, we will bring on a construction manager who...is very value conscious in examining the bids and the follow through work. That is how we see that we are getting the absolute best value for every dollar that is spent. Moderator: Is it true that the total [of the $41.5 million bond issue] will come to [over] $60 million? Finn: Yes. It will be a 15-year term bond and it is being estimated on a bond that's going at an interest rate of 5.375 percent. Moderator: Can we turn down parts of the bond that we don't agree with? Finn: No. This is all or nothing. That is the proposal to give the authorization to the board to borrow that amount of money. Moderator: The architect's fee is approximately 9.5 percent of the entire bond. Are the costs of this bond based on the architect's recommendations, experiences and best guesses? Will his fee be based on actual work done? Finn: The architect's fee is not 9.5 percent. That is fees that cover the architect, bond council, financial advisor, testing fees, administrative costs. There is more than the architects in that. The actual fees paid to the architects are paid on the actual contracts that are awarded. Moderator: Is it necessary to have sod and sprinkler systems at all 27 fields? Finn: I think the facts of the bond are for the public and that becomes a community issue. Is it something that the community finds desirable, necessary, frivolous... Moderator: Why did we wait so long to do this? Finn: I don't know what the appropriate time is. A lot of things are coming together because we have six or seven buildings that were built at the same time. Their needs are going to have to be met at the same time. Moderator: It has not been determined where $1.2 million in ceiling tiles will be installed. Did anyone, including the architect, look at each school? Finn: The architect certainly has been in every school. We are waiting until we do all the work on the roofs before we make a final determination on the ceiling tiles. Moderator: After all this work is completed, will another bond be needed several years from now...when all things expire at the same time? Finn: I don't know. I think this district is rare in that it has not had a bond referendum in 40 years while there are districts that have a bond referendum in what appears every two or three years. If you do a lot of work at once, and that work has a common factor such as expected life span, the community at that point in time is going to be faced with a similar question. Moderator: Why is the replacement listed in the bond detail for asphalt always 50 percent and always 40 percent for concrete? Why is it the same percentage for every school? Finn: That is an estimate of the amount of work that would be done. That's an allocation. As we get into the specifications that are sent to the state, we would be more specific. One area in one building could wind up with 60 percent and another with 30 percent. Moderator: Parents have been led to believe that there will be no all-day kindergarten if the proposal is not passed. Is this true? Finn: No, that is absolutely false. The school board has determined there will be full-day kindergarten next year. It has nothing to do with the passing or defeat of the bond referendum. Moderator: After spending $41.8 million on improving facilities, what measures are being taken to prevent the large turnover of teachers being drawn to neighboring school districts which offer higher salaries? Finn: I don't know the impact of a bond on hiring more retainable staff. Doing work that helps us have a better physical school climate for students to learn is an important issue. By extension, I think that may carry to teachers.