At Franklin D. Roosevelt High School, it’s not unusual for a bucket to be placed in a hallway or classroom to collect water on a rainy day.
The school’s auditorium has missing and damaged seats where replacement parts can no longer be located.
At Ralph R. Smith Elementary School, a bus loop has parents and bus drivers frustrated due to a lack of designated bus and parent drop-off areas causing congestion.
These are some of the issues the Hyde Park Central School District is looking to remediate with a $35.7 million capital project.
Residents will cast their votes for the project on Feb. 22 at Haviland Middle School.
District officials say the project will receive partial funding from the state and would not result in raising taxes.
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Director of Facilities and Operation Elliot Sheldon said the upgrades are necessary and would become part of a future general budget proposal if the capital project does not pass. In that event, he said the improvements would not receive state aid.
The goal is to have the work completed by the end of 2023, he said.
The district estimates it will receive more than $28 million in state aid for the project and the roughly $15.3 million in interest incurred from borrowing around $32.4 million. The district plans to use $3.3 million from its capital reserve.
In a presentation to the board, School Business Manager Linda Steinburg noted the borrowing would not increase taxes, as the district has already been paying off funds borrowed from a previous capital project that was passed in 2018.
“For several years the district has set aside funds for the inevitability of such maintenance,” Superintendent Aviva Kafka said in a letter to the community. “These reserves will fund a significant portion of the improvements, as well as money that will be borrowed and paid through state aid.”
What is being proposed?
The district is proposing upgrades to each building, including safety vestibules at each school with a remote kiosk at the entrance of elementary schools for guests to check-in. It is also proposing HVAC upgrades in some schools, replacement of the high school’s turf field and track, and roofing upgrades.
Details include:
Roosevelt High School: $16,511,940
The high school would receive the most attention. In addition to the athletic fields, an upgrade to its auditorium is estimated at nearly two million and a new roof would cost more than $4 million.
Sheldon said the 12-year-old roof has been patched many times, but has reached the end of its lifespan. Patches billow with water and leak down into the building.
Sheldon said the athletic field was done roughly nine years ago has a 10-to-12-year life span. He said if the track and field are not replaced soon it may result in damage to the foundation down the line.
Sheldon said the auditorium would receive new seating and lighting; its stage would be altered to become ADA Accessible.
The building is also slated to receive upgrades to the entrance of the building and HVAC upgrades.
Haviland Middle School: $2,646,566
The middle school is slated to get an upgraded auditorium and new flooring in its kitchen.
North Park Elementary: $199,786
North Park would have the least amount of work done, with just the new security vestibule put at its entrance.
Ralph R. Smith Elementary: $4,755,510
The building would receive a roughly $3 million bus loop that officials say would solve congestion and traffic issues at both pick-up and drop-off. Sheldon said the traffic is a safety concern with both parents and buses coming into the same area.
“Currently, the busses in the morning and the afternoon have to come in three different tiers to pick the students up and drop-off, so with the new design all the buses and all the students would go to and from the buses at the same time,” Sheldon said. “The parent drop off will be modified so that it’s more efficient, so we will keep the buses and the parents separated.”
Netherwood Elementary: $2,030,958
The building is in need of a new well that is expected to cost $1.2 million.
Violet Avenue Elementary: $7,211,842
The school is in need of a $4.7 million water tank and replacement of its HVAC system. Additionally, it would get a stair lift at its entrance.
Hyde Park Elementary: $1,088,666
The elementary school is in need of a replacement to part of its roof and a new well tank.
Administrative Building: $1,271,784
The district’s headquarters are in need of a new septic system.
Where to vote
Hyde Park district residents can vote on the capital project at Haviland Middle School auditorium on Feb. 22 anytime from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. A snow date is scheduled for Feb. 24.
Katelyn Cordero is the education reporter for the Poughkeepsie Journal: kcordero@poughkeepsiejournal.com; Twitter: @KatelynCordero.
