Areas designated for upgrades in $25 million Mount Sinai bond proposal
By Kyle Barr
Residents will soon be asked to take the trek down to the Mount Sinai school district campus to vote on a $25 million bond proposal, one that district officials hope will give its buildings long-term stability.
“The campus is the heart of the community, everything happens between these three buildings,” Superintendent Gordon Brosdal said. “You got to fix things otherwise it will become more expensive.”
In May residents voted 787 to 176 to use $5 million of the district’s capital reserve funds for a capital project that renovated the high school turf football field and track, replaced a portion of the high school’s ailing roof and created a new fencing around the perimeter of the school campus. The district is still in the midst of creating new gates at both the entrance on Route 25A and North Country Road that will match the new black iron fencing, and Brosdal said the planned new bleachers, which were slated as part of the capital project, will be installed in summer 2019.
Mount Sinai residents have recently criticized the district both in board meetings and online for its spending practices. In June the New York State comptroller released an audit saying the district had amassed millions of dollars in its unrestricted fund budgeted higher than the legal max of 4 percent of the district’s overall budget. District officials said they have made efforts to create a rainy-day fund that could support them in case of an emergency, but they have said they would be establishing a capital reserve of $750,000 to reduce that fund balance, which could go toward additional capital projects in the future. Brosdal said the new bond is completing work that couldn’t be paid with capital funds.
District officials calculated the tax impact on local residents to be $240.29 more for a house assessed at $3,700 and $370.54 more for a home assessed at $5,700. The district has a calculator on its website where residents can calculate their taxes if the bond passes.
“To give our kids the best opportunity to succeed we need to upgrade our facilities,” high school principal Robert Grable said.
If the bond passes, the district would renovation the air conditioning systems in every school building on the campus as well as adding interior door security modifications and additional security cameras throughout the district. Every building would also see upgrades to their bathrooms.
The bond vote will be hosted Dec. 11 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the elementary school back gym.
There is parking in the front of the building as well as handicapped-accessible parking in the back. Votes will be counted directly after 9 p.m.
High School: $8,415,559
The biggest expense for the high school is finishing the roof renovations that were started with the 2018 capital project. District officials and those who work in the high school said the roof leaks, causing constant damage to ceiling tiles and flooring throughout the building. The next biggest expense is the renovation of six science labs as well as the greenhouse, which Andrew Matthews, the district director of math, science and technology, said they badly need an overhaul of the science desks and sinks which tend to leak as well as a complete restructuring of the layout of some rooms. The bond would repave the parking lot in front of the high school as well as add barriers and fencing to increase security.
Middle School: $7,714,685
The middle school would receive a complete window replacement to restore broken and aging glass for $1.6 milllion. The auditorium would receive upgrades to its lighting, controls and sound as well as giving its ceiling a new coat of paint. The middle school library and interior offices would be renovated to create a STEAM lab and install a new security entrance like those in the elementary and high schools. In addition, the bond would replace the flooring in 47 classrooms as well as the gymnasium.
Elementary School: $3,911,369
The elementary school would receive renovations to its front exterior adding nonballistic darkened glass to the front vestibule and remodeling aging wood, paint and concrete around the front entrance. The bond would also replace windows around the kindergarten rooms and corridors and provide replacements for exterior doors.
Athletics and Grounds: $5,289,885
While the costliest renovation is to the high school locker rooms sitting at about $2.4 million, the most substantial changes to Mount Sinai’s athletics would be the creation of a new synthetic turf multipurpose field at the high school and the creation of a new girls varsity softball turf infield and boys varsity baseball turf infield.
Other amenities include a districtwide phone system for $491,625.
