GUILDERLAND — By unanimous vote, the school board decided to bid in January the entire $17.3 million in upgrades for district schools even though discussions are underway about declining enrollment and excess building capacity that might lead to a school closure.

“We had a lot of conversation about all the implications,” Assistant Superintendent for Business Neil Sanders told the board at its Nov. 5 meeting. “Trying to hold off...creates a lot of issues.”

“The recommendation is to go forward as if we were not going to close a school?” asked board member Colleen O’Connell.

“Correct,” responded Sanders.

Sanders read a statement from the facilities committee that had helped develop the proposal, saying it “whole-heartedly” supported proceeding “as expeditiously as is practical.”

The recommendation was backed, too, by the project’s architect, CSArch, and manager, Turner Construction. Sanders went over five reasons why:

— A priority for the summer of 2015 is completing security and safety measures at each of the district’s seven school buildings;

— In some places, building equipment and systems are close to failing, which could disrupt schooling;

—Bidding the entire project in January would lock in material and labor prices, which could escalate;

— Facilities improvements would increase the value of a building for rental or sale if the district were to close a school; and

— The project becomes more complex and inefficient if done piecemeal, for example, re-opening ceilings and walls.

Board member Gloria Towle-Hilt said the business practices committee discussed the recommendation at length. “We came down agreeing...all of us,” she said.

Board member Jennifer Charron said there was nothing in the proposition that “wasn’t absolutely necessary.”

Vice President Allan Simpson asked how security measures would increase rental value for, say, a business tenant if a school were to be closed.

Board member Judy Slack said that the security improvements were the most important to do quickly.

Clifford Nooney, building and grounds supervisor, said, “We can take cameras with us,” meaning, if a school were closed, many of the security components could be used elsewhere in the district. Nooney also said that many businesses would value a double vestibule, if not for security reasons, then to prevent heat loss.

Board member Christopher McManus said, if the district closed a school, a buyer may not want the building, just the property, to build condos, for example.

“The board’s decision to delay is why we’re in this conundrum,” said O’Connell.

“We thought we’d be in a position to know,” said Towle-Hilt of whether the district would be closing a school. “We’ve pushed this out.” Widespread protests from Altamont, after a consultant had recommended closing Altamont Elementary School in four out of five money-saving scenarios, led the school board to set aside his scenarios.

A “community summit” will be held on Nov. 19, seeking a diverse cross-section of the community to come up with ideas on how to deal with diminished resources and too much space. The Tech Valley High School site of the meeting can hold 100 people but so far only 60 have signed up, said board President Barbara Fraterrigo.

“We really need you,” she said, encouraging people to sign up at the district’s website, guilderlandschools.org or to call the district office. “We want a broad representation,” said Fraterrigo.

O’Connell said that representation from the Westmere and Guilderland catchment areas were particularly needed since only eight people from each had signed up.

“Right now, we’re considering five potential buildings, not one,” said Sanders of the district’s five elementary schools.

New clubs

The board approved two new co-curricular clubs, the FMS Gay Straight Alliance at Farnsworth Middle School, and the Harry Potter Club at Guilderland High School.

Although, in 1996, a high school assembly put on by Alliance for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Students at Guilderland caused an uproar, this new club at the middle school was approved unanimously with just one comment — of praise

“It’s good to have a group like that,” said Slack.

The advisor, counselor Maureen Pokal, wrote that the alliance is committed to creating and maintaining a safe learning environment for all students, educating the larger school community about LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) issues, and supporting LGBT students and their allies.

The club that engendered discussion and debate at last Wednesday’s meeting was the Harry Potter Club, which advisor, librarian Melissa Gergen, wrote would be a place for students to “share their passion about the series and meet new friends.”

McManus suggested the board discuss non-curricular clubs.

“How is Harry Potter not related to curricula?” asked O’Connell “Am I missing something?”

“They’re playing that game,” said McManus, alluding to quidditch. Witches and wizards ride broomsticks to play the sport in the series by J. K. Rowling. A real-life version called Muggle quidditch has evolved from her books.

“It was my understanding they’ll play quidditch,” said high school principal Thomas Lutsic of the club members.

“Somewhere along the line, we’ll have safety issues,” said Charron.

“They don’t fly, Jen,” quipped Lutsic in response.

“It’s still a broom between the legs,” returned Charron, adding she thinks it is “really cool.”

“They’ll play with each other,” said Lutsic, not in competition with other schools.

Other business

In other business, the board:

— Heard from no one in the time set aside annually to hear citizens express their views on the budget for the upcoming school year;

— Heard praise from Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Demian Singleton for the Lynnwood Elementary School annual longhouse project where the students spent a week constructing a dwelling similar to that built by the Haudenosaunee as they learn about Native American history and culture;

— Heard congratulations for Nora Upton, who teaches English as a second language at Guilderland Elementary School. She won the 2014 Outstanding Teacher Award from the New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and will be honored at a Nov. 14 banquet;

— Reviewed the end-of-the-year high school library report, which said the library circulated 11,436 titles in the 2013-14 school year, down slightly from the year before, perhaps because of decreased enrollment. The library collection consists of 37,985 copies, and the circulation rate was 6.6 books per student;

— Authorized participation in a cooperative energy service for electricity and natural gas;

— Approved an internship agreement with Union College in Schenectady;

— Adopted policies on community relations goals, board member qualifications, alternative education, and security breach notification;

— Heard glowing accounts of the New York State School Boards Association annual convention, held in New York City, from the board members who attended; and

— Met in executive session to discuss matters leading to an employee’s “potential dismissal,” and the retirement of an employee.