One of the biggest challenges facing Dr. John Richman in his first year as superintendent of the Plainedge School District is making a decision about whether plans to either rebuild or renovate Packard Middle School should be sped up to coincide with the state's capital improvement incentive plans.

According to Richman, the district is aware that something must be done with the middle school in the near future but at this point no definitive decisions had been made about the school. In March 1998 the district sent out an opinion survey, asking residents several questions about the project.

Alice Mateos, who does public relations for Plainedge, stated that the purpose of the survey, in large part, was to make the community aware that this project was being considered for sometime in the next several years. "A project like this is certainly not something you want to surprise the community with," said Mateos.

The first question on the survey was whether the Sylvia Packard Middle School should be renovated or rebuilt. Several concerns about enrollment issues and the need for technological advancements, as well as the physical condition of the building were spelled out in the survey. With an increase in the student population of Plainedge that is expected in the coming years, the district is concerned that Packard is not large enough to handle the increase. The school housed approximately 670 students in 1998 and the district is expecting that the enrollment in grades 6-8 will be up to 810 by the year 2000. With the building as it currently is, the district will also have problems trying to bring technological advancements into the classrooms.

Technological advancements are not the only concern with the middle school. Currently the music rooms are too small for group lessons, the science labs are too small and were built as lecture-style rooms, the lunch rooms are not large enough to feed all students at normal lunch times, there is no auditorium or general meeting space, many classroom designs are not instructionally sound, and the gymnasium lacks windows and proper facilities.

There are also building needs that the district must consider. As stated in the Plainedge Public Schools Opinion Survey, "The school building itself requires extensive repairs and renovations. In the event that a new school is built, we hope to dismantle and re-create the planetarium within the new building. Some of the areas most in need of repair include: exterior windows; concrete steps, sidewalk and parking lots; exterior doors and door frames; ventilating/plumbing systems."

Although the district had discussed making these improvements, no timeline for this project had been established. This past week, according to Richman, they discovered that under the state's capital improvement incentive plan the best financial plan for the district would be to make a decision by July 1, 2000. Richman explained that the district just discovered that if they have the plan for the project approved by July 1 they would be reimbursed 65.4 percent in state aid. If the project is not approved by the July 1 cutoff, the amount of state aid would drop to 55.4 percent. According to Richman, this could mean a difference of approximately $4 million for the district.

New York State Assemblyman Steven Labriola said that this difference in funding comes from the governor's plan to eliminate the building aid ratio choice. This procedure allows school districts to choose their highest building aid ratio, from 1981 until now to be reimbursed by the state. The plan to eliminate this procedure has been rejected by the legislature so at this point districts can use a project approved by July 1 as their highest aid ratio. Labriola pointed out that the governor has wanted to eliminate this choice since 1998 but it has been rejected by the legislature and there is no saying whether it will be passed by them next year. The fear that they will no longer have this choice, combined with the fact that this year the state saw a 35 percent increase in building aid, has many districts rushing to get building projects approved by the taxpayers. "If I had necessary work, having to do particularly with safety issues, I would get it in the pipeline. The superintendents are gambling. They're gambling that things are not always going to be this good so [they are saying], 'Let's do it now,'" said Labriola.

In order to have this project approved by the voters by July 1, district administration has to lay out plans for a bond issue before that time. At this point the board of education has given Richman approval to do a preliminary study with an architect. Preliminary plans must be drawn up in order for the district to submit an application to the state.

If the district decides to go ahead with the plans for the middle school they may also include other projects that need to be done throughout the district. "We will look at all of our buildings and updating all of our facilities," said Richman. Labriola noted that districts must remember to do projects that are necessary and not just on their wish list because ultimately, even if a district receives 65 percent reimbursable aid, the other 35 percent must be borne by the taxpayers of that district.

"The Plainedge School District has a school board that has shown time and time again that they're willing to return their surplus dollars to the taxpayers. That kind of action does instill confidence by the taxpayers that the boards are always trying to do the right thing, that they are watching out for the taxpayers' dollars," said Labriola. "If Plainedge is doing the bond right now, their track record is such that if they are considering doing the work, the work is most likely necessary but it's up to their residents and the taxpayers to question their school board members and question the superintendent and decide whether or not this is absolutely necessary work and then, ultimately, they get to vote on it. The residents themselves will be able to voice their opinions at the ballot box."

The Plainedge administration and board will be researching this issue further in the coming weeks and months before they bring it to the voters but Richman is optimistic that to do the project this year would be in the best interest of the district.

Richman stated, "There has been talk in the community about the need for a new middle school for a while. With this financial incentive, if we're going to do it, we have to get voter approval this year. It's just too expensive not to."