Southold school district voters today approved the district’s proposed 15-year $7.765 million capital improvement bond by a vote of 257 to 192.
“This is a very positive step forward for the entire Southold community,” said schools superintendent David Gamberg said after the vote tally was announced.
“We look forward to involving all the stakeholders in the important design work we’ve now got to do,” he said.
“Now we get to work.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” A very excited school board president Paulette Ofrias said when asked to comment.
The vote green lights the district’s $9,765,750 capital improvement program aimed at upgrading, updating and enhancing school facilities. In addition to the borrowing approved by voters today, the program will be funded with $2 million drawn from the district’s capital reserve fund.
The capital improvement program proposed by the district consists of the following components:
- technology lab upgrade
- construction of a new library media center
- television studio upgrade
- computer labs reconfiguration and upgrade
- ROTC classroom refurbishment
- art room and photo studio upgrades
- cafeteria renovation and creation of an outdoor dining area
- flexible learning spaces construction at the elementery school
- security upgrades (universal lock system, door locks, cameras and technology)
- parking lot reconstruction and lighting upgrades
- exterior fascia reconstruction
- synthetic turf multisport field and six lane track construction
The superintendent characterized the purpose of the program as bringing the district’s facilities “into the 21st century.”
The district will now prepare an application to the State Education Department seeking approval of the work. Gamberg said he expects the approval to take about a year to obtain, based on current review process time frames for the state agency.
If the state approval is given, the district would begin construction in 2017, with most of the work being done during summer recess in 2017 and 2018. No new borrowing would take place until 2018 and the new debt service would come onto the district’s books after the current bond is retired in 2018. The net result will be a $70 per household reduction in debt service cost, Gamberg said.
