Sweeping Security Project Referendum Goes to Voters in March

The Board of Education approved last week going out for a referendum in March to help finance a $4.8 million safety and security project.

The board approved the matter Jan. 9. The referendum will go out to residents March 11.

The district would bond for the entire cost but include in annual budgets the money it will receive from state grant to cover 40 percent of the project's cost, or about $1.9 million. The district would receive the money from the state as the projects are completed.

The remaining 60 percent, about $2.9 million, will be financed through the district’s budget. 

The bond would be paid back over a 15-year period at a 3.5 interest rate. It was slated to cost the average homeowner about $12 in taxes annually. The average home is valued at $228,800. 

The project, if the referendum, is approved, would not impact the 2014-15 budget.

The state did not approve a $300,000 plan to upgrade the chemistry lab at Wayne Valley High School.

A formal resolution outlining the projects and cost of the referendum will be presented to the Board next month.

Board President Laura Stiziano did not return messages seeking comment.

The district’s facilities department conducted an internal audit of the schools’ safety measures and recommended changes.

Safety and security upgrades will be done at every school. New photo identification cards, access terminals, and video and intercom systems would be installed at eight schools. The intercom systems at Schuyler-Colfax Middle School and Lafayette Elementary School are nearly 50 years old.

New surveillance systems, exterior and interior doors, and fire alarm systems would also be installed. Several elementary schools and two middle schools have no video surveillance capability, officials said previously.

Security vestibules and additional motion sensors would be installed in several buildings and main offices could be relocated. New bleachers at Wayne Valley will be installed as well.

“There were a lot of things my staff spotted and the only way to take care of them is with capital improvements or through the budget,” John Maso, the district’s facilities director previously said. “We do have a burglar alarm in each school but there is a need for more sensors.”

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