BH-BL Referendum Results:

Energy proposition passes, safety & technology defeated

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake residents approved only one of three propositions at the district's Renovations Referendum on December 9. Results were as follows:

A total of 1,064 residents voted, including 41 who voted by absentee ballot. This is higher than the 914 who voted in the previous EXCEL referendum in March 2007, and a reasonable turnout considering the significant snow storm that the Capital Region endured during the morning of the vote.

Superintendent Jim Schultz thanked the residents who took the time to come out and vote despite the bad weather. "I'm heartened that in this tough fiscal environment our citizens are willing to support the critical infrastructure and energy conservation projects in proposition 1," he said.

The biggest projects in the approved proposition include $4.1 million for roofing work, $3.9 million for new boilers and heating system at the Stevens Elementary School, $1.7 million to replace single-pane windows at three schools, and new heating control systems at three schools.

Schultz expressed his disappointment at the defeat of propositions 2 and 3. "We will continue to ensure student safety and address students' technology needs with current resources as best we can," he said. 

Background information

Voters to decide on $19.6 million in projects

BH-BL renovations vote will be December 9

BURNT HILLS:  Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake school district voters will be going to the polls in the high school gym on Wednesday, December 9, to consider three separate renovation propositions for a total of $19.6 million.

    Even if bad weather forces the cancellation of classes on Wednesday, the vote will still be held as scheduled and as was announced in the required legal notices.

    After a year of studying the district's infrastructure needs, Board of Education members approved the three-proposition plan at their business meeting on October 13.

    Voters will be asked to approve:

Proposition 1 has a number of projects that would significantly reduce heating costs. One of these is installing double-pane windows for all remaining original single-pane windows at the high school, middle school and Charlton Heights.

    Over the past year, two district committees have studied and prioritized the most urgent infrastructure needs in BH-BL buildings and grounds. Although nearly $40 million of projects were identified as very important and needed, Board of Education members did not want to ask the voters for that much money this year when the economy continues to cause hardships for many local families.

      "Much as the board would also like to include programmatic changes that could allow us to improve how instruction is offered, we are not sure the community would support that at this time," said superintendent Jim Schultz. "In the current economy it's important to focus on essentials like replacing antique boilers and upgrading fifty-year-old septic systems."

Resealing the high school track will keep cracks like this from growing bigger & causing bigger repair bills later on.

    The list of renovation projects was therefore reduced to $19.6 million and broken into three separate propositions so that voters could pick out the themes that were the most important to them if they wished.

How will the referendum impact property taxes?

      According to assistant superintendent Jacqueline St. Onge, the property tax impact of these propositions would be minimal because the district has been careful to include only projects that are eligible for state building aid and because the energy-conserving projects in Proposition 1 will reduce the district's gas and electric bills by more than $100,000 annually.

    Approximately 75 percent of the cost of all projects plus interest will be reimbursed to the district in the form of state building aid. Under current state regulations, this aid will be paid to the district in 15 equal annual payments starting in 2013. Therefore, to minimize the property tax impact, St. Onge would structure district borrowing over 15 years as well.

    If all three propositions are approved by the voters on December 9, the first time their cost would impact BH-BL property owners is in the 2012-2013 school year. The estimated tax impact for the owner of what is now a median value home (currently assessed at $173,100) will be less than $35. Following 2013, the cost of referendum debt will remain the same for 15 years and then end. The $35 figure is based upon the 2009-10 average true value tax rate in the district's four towns.

Recommendations from two committees

    School board members used recommendations from two district committees to help prioritize projects to include in the vote. A Critical Infrastructure Needs Committee researched the most urgent needs in district facilities and prepared a list of potential projects totaling $39.5 million for the board in March 2009.

     A follow-up Referendum Review Committee of 21 residents and staff members examined this list, toured facilities, and made recommendations to the board in June. Because many needs are so critical, the second committee was strongly in favor of holding a referendum this fall, St. Onge says, rather than waiting another year and hoping the economy will improve.

    BH-BL has a long history of using community representatives to help prioritize needs and then passing renovations referenda every five to six years to meet those needs. Previous referenda ranging from $870,000 to $16 million were approved in 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998 and 2003. Additionally district voters approved a renovations package in March 2007 that used state EXCEL aid to complete $4.9 million in projects at no additional cost to local taxpayers.

Energy savings, student safety & technology are 2009 themes

    In their October decision on which projects to address now, Board of Education board members said that they wished to focus on projects that are necessary to:
     1.  reduce energy costs,
     2.  improve student safety,
     3.  remove bottlenecks that currently limit interactive learning via the world wide web, and
     4.  address the most critical areas of deterioration so as to maintain the community's investment in school facilities.

     Click on List of Projects for all projects & dollar amounts

Proposition 1: Energy Bond Issue projects

    If approved by the voters, the energy conservation projects in Proposition #1 will replace old and worn-out facilities and reduce BH-BL's heating bills by more than an estimated $100,000 annually. 

Part of the middle school roof scheduled for replacement was last renovated in 1987 and now has weeds growing between the roofing tiles, despite custodians' efforts to remove them.

    The biggest project ($4.1 million) is replacing the oldest and most weathered portions of the roof at each school for $4.1 million. "We live in a climate that is pretty tough on roofing, and in total square feet, our schools have more than 11 acres of roofing," says Schultz. "So the Board of Education’s goal has been to replace some roofing with each five-year renovations plan." In the past we used 20-year roofing for this, but now that 30-year-warranteed roofing is available, we have switched to that more cost-effective option."

     Click here to view roofing maps showing what portions of each school roof would be updated.

This 1962 condensate return pump at Stevens school must convert steam back to water in the current heating system. It would no longer be needed once the building is converted to a much more energy efficient hot water heating system.

     The second biggest project is replacing the steam heating system and boilers at the Stevens elementary school (which date from 1962) and converting that school to a much more efficient hot-water heating system. The Board of Education decided to upgrade the Stevens fire alarm system at the same time as the heating conversion since both projects require opening up hallway ceilings. This combined project is estimated to cost $3.9 million. A similar conversion from steam to hot water heating at the high school is already saving more than $100,000 per year.

    Other projects in Proposition 1 include:

      Replacing the last group of single-pane windows at Charlton Heights, the middle school and the high school with double-pane windows.

      Replacing a number of worn-out or deteriorated exterior doors that are letting outside air into all five schools,

   Adding air conditioning to the Pashley School cafetorium so that children will have a place to cool down on extremely hot days, and

    Upgrading heating controls at Charlton Heights, the middle school and the high school. These three schools have modern and efficient boilers, but still use old-fashioned pneumatic temperature controls, which means that rooms on the sunny side of the building may be sweltering while other rooms are uncomfortably cold. New HVAC digital controls will further reduce heating costs by sending heat only to the rooms that need it.

Proposition 2: Student Safety Bond Issue projects

    Redesign of the traffic patterns at both the O'Rourke middle school and Stevens elementary school top the list of safety projects. Each project would cost over $1 million, would separate car and bus traffic for safety, would add parking spots so that parents can avoid parking on Lakehill Road, and would reduce congestion on Lakehill Road at certain times of the day. "Traffic nearly grinds to a halt on Lakehill Road at certain times of the day now, and this is something that impacts the entire town," notes St. Onge. "In fact both of these projects have been priorities for us for a number of years."

      Click here to view the proposed Stevens school traffic plan and the Middle School traffic plan.

Our folding gym partition walls are old and their motorized mechanism does not always work. Teachers try to avoid using them for fear they may get stuck half way open.

   Another project is replacing the movable partition walls inside our schools gymnasiums, which will cost an estimated $498,000. These walls are in bad shape, according to building and grounds supervisor Dan Diggins, and must be replaced soon whether or not the referendum is approved if BH-BL is to remain in compliance with state safety codes.

    Resealing the high school track in the next couple years before it deteriorates further would actually save money, Diggins told board members. Resealing can only be done while the track's underlying structure is sound, otherwise the whole structure must be replaced.

Proposition 3: Technology Bond Issue projects

   This proposition includes two projects to solve current bottlenecks in the district's internet access infrastructure, which prevent teachers and students from being able to use hundreds of interactive learning activities available through the world wide web.

    BH-BL classrooms have hundreds of computers capable of sending and receiving information at 1,000 megabytes per second (mbps) linked to the world through microwave transmission towers capable of only 45 mbps. Installing a fiber optic system for $1.7 million and upgrading our local area network (LAN) equipment for $1.3 million will enable BH-BL children to learn through interactive technology more appropriate to 21st century careers. For example, with fiber optic access classes will be able to hold live video conferences to discuss global warming with oceanographers in Seattle, talk to actors at the Globe Theater in London about interpreting a Shakespeare play they just read, or pose questions to their representative in Washington D.C.

   This proposition also includes funding to lease and maintain the fiber optic system for 20 years, which makes project costs eligible for 75% state building aid.

Referendum polling details

    On Wednesday, December 9, the polls will be open in the BH-BL high school gym from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm. The school is located at 88 Lakehill Road, Burnt Hills, and the gym is located behind the building next to a large parking lot. There will be handicapped parking and signs to show voters the way.

    Click here to learn about voter eligibility or absentee ballots.

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