The board of education is requesting voter approval on Oct. 4 for two propositions to expend $1.45 million from funds presently in the Capital Reserve Fund that was established by voter approval in May. Monies would be used in planning for future school district building projects, which is in keeping with the fund's stated use of "funding future districtwide capital improvements including but not limited to construction and/or replacement of districtwide facilities and property, capital improvements related to future enrollment growth needs, other infrastructure improvements, and similar projects."

While each household is receiving a flier this week outlining the terms of the propositions, for those residents who are not able to attend our regular board meetings we thought it important to communicate additional information, including some broader concepts regarding the district's capital program. For those community members who say they do not yet see a long term plan, we hope that after reading this letter they might come to understand that our vision is for the prudent development of a conservative capital plan that, when taken in steps and stages, incorporates being able to meet the enrollment growth while maintaining the facility structures.

A. Background:

Three primary challenges are driving the district's capital requirements and must be addressed in our planning:

• Present and continuing elementary school enrollment growth

• Necessary maintenance and repairs on all three school buildings

• Future enrollment growth as it migrates to the secondary schools

We believe that meeting these challenges and addressing our capital requirements is best accomplished by first prioritizing the needs and then balancing those needs against funding resources. Separating the needs into short, medium, and long-term priorities might appear to some to be a piecemeal approach, however, we believe that addressing the needs on a step-by-step basis is appropriately pragmatic, particularly following several years of not being able to invest in our facilities. A long term plan is being developed, but we cannot fail to address the short-term priorities while the necessary long-term analysis is being undertaken.

B. Short Term Needs:

Two items were designated as high short-term priorities and we have endeavored to meet those needs through existing resources:

The repairs and replacement of the roofs and related items at both Shelter Rock and Munsey Park Elementary Schools were approved by the voters in May 2006. This will enable work to be scheduled and completed over the summer in 2007.

If approved on Oct. 4, the reconfiguration of empty space at Munsey Park, funded by existing capital reserves, will enable us to meet the need for additional classrooms necessitated by the growth in enrollment at Munsey Park. Construction is targeted for completion by September 2007. The following four main points should be considered:

• Increased enrollment at the elementary schools - The best enrollment information we have today indicates a pressing need for three general classrooms to meet requirements both in the near-term and for the foreseeable future at Munsey Park. It is our collective responsibility to the families and children in this district to be proactive and ensure that the necessary classroom space is available. We can ill afford to be reactive and wait and see precisely how the numbers grow, as sufficient lead time is needed to allow for permits and approvals from NY State Ed, bids and construction work.

• Added classrooms would support maintaining class sizes within the district's current elementary school guidelines - Manhasset's commitment to maintaining current class size guidelines is generally accepted as sound educational practice. These class size limits have been in effect for over 20 years and represent the collective judgment of many Manhasset boards and administrations. The present board affirms that both reasonable class size limits and quality teachers are essential elements of any sound educational program. While some may advocate larger class size limits than those currently in place by the district, the adjustments of even one section per grade level would place Manhasset at levels higher than the averages for all of Nassau County. While it is easy to think that the solution is merely to increase class sizes by one or two children, in practice that is not how the numbers work if striving for fewer sections per grade. For example, moving from five sections of 23 students per class in Grade three down to four sections for that grade would require an increase in the class size limits to 29 students per class.

• Alternative solutions were considered- Numerous alternatives were considered over the course of the 2005/06 school year, including leasing and installing three portable structures for a temporary period, estimated at $705,000 by the district's architect. Approval of Proposition 1 would authorize a solution to the classroom needs at Munsey Park through a long-term investment in the facility at roughly comparable dollars, rather than through the temporary addition of classroom space that reduces already scarce field space.

• We believe this is a creative solution-The reconstruction project will reconfigure an unused stage area to create a two-story space that would be used for a computer center and four smaller instructional spaces. The rooms vacated by these programs would be converted to yield a net increase of three additional full-size general instruction classrooms as well as maintain the computer lab and space for guidance and state required supplementary reading programs.

C. Medium Term Needs:

In January 2006 the district's architect presented the "Building Conditions Survey," a report required every five years by the NY State Education Department. In addition to the roofing work at the elementary schools, this evaluation identified some $17 million in necessary capital expenditures over the coming five years, including extensive work on the roofing and masonry at the secondary school. These items are of a magnitude that will require community support of a bond referendum to finance the necessary work. Continued assessment of these needs is ongoing, and we hope to be in the position to come back to the voters later this school year with a proposal.

D. Long Term Needs:

During the 2006-07 school year, the administration and board will develop a plan whose primary purpose is to address medium- and long-term district needs. Development of a long term plan - both a financial plan and a facilities plan - requires numerous items to be analyzed, assessed, considered and integrated into a cohesive plan. Many aspects of this plan will benefit from engaging the community in deciding the best way to meet longer-term enrollment space needs at both the middle and high schools, projected at an additional 250-300 students at the secondary school complex by 2013-2014. These items include, but are not limited to:

• The need for additional classrooms to meet projected enrollment growth

• The relocation of non-instructional space presently in the secondary school complex in order to free up space for classrooms at the secondary school

• The best allowable use of the space currently occupied by the bus garage

• The existing building complex footprint

• The need to upgrade aspects of the middle and high school complex

• Modern science laboratory facilities

• Scarce playing fields/the need for additional playing field space

• Considerations for safe traffic circulation and parking

• Consideration as to which grade levels will be part of the middle school

• Addressing the long-term tax levy impact of all facility acquisition and construction

These items are of a magnitude that will require community support of an additional bond referendum at some future date to finance the necessary work.

If approved on Oct. 4, the purchase of a property contiguous to the secondary school campus, funded by existing capital reserves, would provide needed flexibility as we develop future expansion plans.

• Increased enrollment at the secondary schools - The purchase of this property would provide flexibility in developing the long term plan and in meeting the needs of enrollment growth as it migrates to the middle and high school. Given concerns that there is not enough room on the present footprint of the secondary school campus to achieve the necessary expansion, by approving Proposition 2, the voters will authorize the purchase of a contiguous property that could provide additional needed space for a landlocked and constrained campus.

• The purpose of the purchase is not speculation - The board has stated that a primary focus for this property would be to relocate some non-instructional district operations currently housed in the high school building in order to free up classroom space at the secondary school complex. While construction costs for any modifications to the property are not presently delineated, the board has been transparent in stating that the specific use of the property would be based on how its use fits into the broader plan for the secondary campus, and that the ability to proceed with any construction at the site remains subject to voter authorization. In response to concerns that an office building would impact the neighborhood, the board committed to the residents that whatever is done would be in a manner to respect and maintain the character of the neighborhood.

We ask that you contact us at boe@manhasset.k12.ny.us or the superintendent's office at 267-7705 with any questions or comments. Additional information can be found on the district's website at www.manhasset.k12.ny.us. We encourage all registered voters in our community to vote on Wednesday, Oct. 4, from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Manhasset Secondary School gymnasium.

Manhasset Board of Education

Cindy Cardinal, President

Pat Aitken, Vice President

Larry Belinsky

Aline Khatchadourian

Carlo Prinzo