Voters to decide $24M proposal
School district eyes project
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. – Ballston Spa Central School District residents will vote Tuesday on a nearly $24 million facilities improvement bond referendum.
Balloting is scheduled for 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the high school for residents of Ballston, Milton and Charlton, and at Malta Town Hall for Malta residents.
If approved, plans call for major upgrades to elementary, middle school and high school facilities.
“Everything we’re doing falls in the need-to-have category,” said Superintendent of Schools Ken Slentz.
This would include health, safety and infrastructure improvements to the Grove Street section of Malta Avenue Elementary School, which dates to the 1920s. Projects would include new auditorium seating plus renovations to the gymnasium, kitchen and outdated classrooms, along with removal of old lockers and upgrading corridor floors and ceilings.
At the middle school, 1950sera classrooms would be updated including removal of old science labs. The technology and art classrooms would be reconfigured to serve current curriculum needs and bathrooms would be renovated in several wings.
Also, improvements would be made in the gymnasium includ-
ing window replacements, lighting and ventilation upgrades, and locker room rehabilitation. The proposal also includes replacement of student lockers in the hallways and related renovations to common areas.
High school projects would see replacement of more than 20-year-old original cogeneration equipment. Heats pumps and control systems would also be replaced throughout the building.
In the auditorium, plans call for new stage curtains, select lighting and controls as well as updating of portions of the rigging system.
In addition, a second overhead door would be added to the technology/ shop area to allow better classroom access.
Athletic improvements are field rehabilitation in front of and behind the middle school, construction of a new multipurpose field on the south end of the campus, and construction of a new athletic storage building complete with a uniform drying area near the football stadium.
All such work represents Phase III of the district’s facilities master plan.
Of the nearly $24 million total, $6,325,000 would come from the district’ capital reserve fund. School officials say the projected net tax impact on the average home assessed at $235,000 would be an estimated $11.60 per year starting in 2021.
If the referendum passes, projects would head to the design phase scheduled for completion by December 2019. State Education Department approval is required before projects can be put out to bid, planned for early 2020.
Slentz said the referendum is taking place this month instead of May, during annual school budget balloting, to fit in with the state Education Department’s approval timeline.
Also, the best time to advertise bids is the first quarter of a year, as firms are more apt to offer competitive lower prices than later on during busy construction seasons, he said.
“We’re looking to get the best bang for our buck,” Slentz said. “That’s the whole driving force behind holding the vote now.”
All projects are scheduled for completion by October 2022.