BKW proposes $12.7M in renovations



BERNE - On Dec. 18, the school district's voters will decide on a bond issue for a $12.7 million plan to renovate the Berne-Knox-Westerlo elementary and middle-high school buildings.

Driven by the Americans With Disabilities Act, BKW administrators have recently proposed several projects. The board unanimously approved the renovation plan last week.

Currently, two students in the middle-high school and two in the elementary school use wheelchairs permanently, said BKW Superintendent Steven Schrade, adding that some other students are using wheelchairs temporarily due to injuries.
"This project is driven by issues of handicapped accessibility, and, certainly, people are wondering why we need to do this project when our student population is declining," Schrade said.
"I can just reinforce that"that's the law," Schrade said, "and it's the right thing to do for our students."

A recent Cornell University study commissioned by the district projected district-wide enrollment will plummet as low as 792 in the next 10 years.

Currently, there are 1,080 students attending BKW schools. Schrade said the number of students is down slightly - about 25 to 30 students - from last year.

Renovation plans for the middle-high school include a new cafeteria and technology room and new bathrooms and locker rooms - all accessible to those with handicaps. Plans also include an expanded auditorium stage and renovations to the gymnasium, art room, and library.

Updates to the elementary school include: renovated bathrooms, a new loudspeaker system, new fire alarms and smoke detectors, and added elevator access on its ground floor.

No new classroom space would be added; the current middle-high school cafeteria would be used for storage or as a study hall, and the current boys' locker room would be used for storage, said Schrade.

If the bond passes, Schrade said, a student parking lot next to the high school would be eliminated, and an existing parking lot with crushed stone would be paved next to the soccer field. Also, the high school auditorium would be expanded. Schrade said the plan also includes added air ducts in the auditorium to improve ventilation, with the potential to add air-conditioning.

Currently, BKW has only some spaces air-conditioned by window units, such as in rooms which must meet certain temperature conditions for special-education students, Schrade said.

About 80 percent of the $12.7 million project would be funded by state aid. If approved, district taxpayers will pay about $1 million over 15 years. About $340,000 would come from EXCEL (EXpanding our Children's Education and Learning) state aid, designated for building projects, and about $1.3 million would come from BKW's capital reserve fund.

Schrade said administrators are presenting a reasonable project for the district's taxpayers. The project would add less than 1 percent annually to the district tax rate, Schrade said, adding that he is working with the district's fiscal advisors to pin down the added cost so that those in the district know what it means to them.

By the time the project would start, there could be more than $1.3 million in BKW's capital reserve, Schrade said, adding that he would recommend the board of education use all of those funds to reduce the tax burden.

Schedule

If approved by the district's voters, the project would not get underway for six to nine months as plans have to be approved by the State Education Department, Schrade said. Then, in the fall of 2008, bids would be requested, and groundbreaking would take place in the spring of 2009.

Schrade, recalling a building project that started in 2004 and ended in 2006, estimated the current project would take one-and-a-half to two years to complete. After consulting with Karl Griffith, of Griffith Dardanelli Architects, which the district has used in the past for renovation projects, Schrade said the project would occur in two phases.

New construction, which includes a cafeteria and technology room in the high school, would take place in the spring, summer, and fall of 2009, Schrade said; then, the ideal time to reconstruct the gymnasium would be between April and October so that physical-education classes and winter sports would not be greatly interrupted.

The town of Berne, which has been working on adding a sewer system to the hamlet of Berne, is planning to locate a water-treatment plant near the school grounds.

Schrade said that, even if the sewer-treatment project occurred at the same time as the renovations, none of the work would take place near the renovation project.

Taxes

The most current information shows that, in the BKW school district, there are 4,249 assessed parcels, spanning parts of seven towns. Berne residents pay about 41-percent of BKW's taxes, Knox pays about 35 percent, and Westerlo pays 23 percent. Small parts of New Scotland, Rensselaerville, Middleburgh, and Wright also lie within the district, making up the remaining 1 percent.

The current school tax rates are as follows:

- Berne, $26.86;
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- Knox, $29.30;
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- New Scotland, $16.96;
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- Rensselaerville, $29.57;
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- Westerlo, $1,941.73;
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- Middleburgh, $24.05; and
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- Wright, $20.66.
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Westerlo's rate is high because its assessments are low; the town has not revalued property since 1955.