BHBL Bond Issue

7/27/2019 BHBL Bond Issue

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bhbl-bond-issue 1/8

Contents:

2 - 7 Frequently Asked

Questions & List o

Projects

4 - 5 Aerial view o

projects proposed or

the High School

6 Trafc & parking changes

or Stevens School

8 Voting details explained

October 2013

On Tuesday, Oct. 22,

Burnt Hills-BallstonLake school district

voters will go to the polls in thehigh school gym to considera Renovations Bond IssueReferendum o $34.2 million.

This reerendum wouldund 33 projects that the Boardo Education has chosen —ollowing a year o study andrecommendations rom twocommittees — as the district’smost urgent needs out o aninitial list o nearly $70 millionin potential projects.

As described inside, theprojects represent the high-est priorities relative to ourthemes:

• 21st century learning needs,

• Critical inrastructure andenergy conservation needs,

• Athletics and physical edu-cation needs, and

• Saety and security needs.

Modest tax increaseThis is the largest bond is-

sue proposal ever put beoreBH-BL voters. However, dueto several unique fnancialcircumstances, i approved,the reerendum would resultin a one-time tax levy increaseo less than one percent, with

Ensuring

opportunities

for learning,

personal growth

& social

responsibility

most o the cost being

paid by state building aid. Assistant superinten-

dent Chris Abdoo cal-culates that or a BH-BLresident with a homewith a market value o $200,000, the reerendumwill mean an estimatedtax increase o $40. Seniorcitizens with low incometax exemption would payeven less.

Taking advantageo a unique opportunity

The largest project in the reer-endum involves moving the districtofces into some o the oldest andsmallest classrooms along the rontwing o the high school and simul-taneously building new classroomsin what is being termed a “STEAM”(science, technology, engineering, artsand math) addition to the school.

“This reerendum really does

represent a unique opportunity orour school district, one that theschool board has been planning totake advantage o since 2009,” sayssuperintendent Patrick McGrath.“By moving the district ofces intoexisting classroom space at the highschool, we can leverage state aid orthis project and turn the roughly $2million in revenue we will have romthe Hostetter Building into $8 million

Saety, 21st century learning, athletics & energy are themes

Voters to consider $34.2 million in renovationson October 22

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central Schools

SPECIAL REFERENDUM NEWSLETTER

Referendum at a Glance

Reerendum Total $34,172,000

Percent o annual cost that will bepaid by NY State building aid 77 percent

Impact on BH-BL property tax levy 1% increase

Estimated tax increase or homeowners who have

A $200,000 market-value home $40

A $200,000 market-value home +maximum “Aged Senior” exemption* $20

Net reduction in square ootage o district buildings 31,000

* Property owners over the age o 65 with an income o less than $29,000.

WHEN IS THE

VOTE?

Tuesday,October 22

7 am to 9 pm

High School

Gymnasium,

88 Lakehill Rd.

or new classrooms and high techacilities or our students.”

“This oers a large-scale im-provement o learning spaces orkids, which is our mission. It issuch a great opportunity that wewould be remiss not to put it be-ore the voters or their consideration,” he says.

CHERYL BROTBH-B

TEACHER RENOVATION

COMMITTEMEMBE

Teachersare doing their

best to keep pace

with 21st Century

learning & tech-

nology, but we

don’t have the

inrastructure we

need. Even electri-

cal outlets are a

problem.

“

”



B U R N T H I L L S - B A L L S T O N L A K E C E N T R A L S C H O O L S B U L L E T I N

BH-BL Bulletin

October 2013

page 2

S P E C I A L R E F E R E N D U M E

D I T I O N

Your home gets constant wear andtear, both outdoors rom the sun andsnow and indoors rom your daily ac-tivities. Multiply that hundreds o timesand you’ll have an idea o what happensto our fve schools, which serve 400 to1,140 active youngsters plus sta daily.

Ater 20 years o repeated reezing and

thawing, roofng starts to ail. Ater 40 ormore years o constant use, HVAC sys-tems become unreliable and inefcient,doors no longer ft properly, and evenstructures built to be used by hundreds o children daily just plain wear out.

Our buildings have become outdatedin other ways as well. School saety andsecurity expectations have changed. Peo-ple use more technology to learn, com-municate and share inormation than theyonce did, and school inrastructure needsto keep pace with all o these changes.

Why are these projects needed & howwere they chosen?

How can $34.2 million in school projects cause only a 1%tax levy increase?

I approved by the voters on October22, the reerendum o $34.2 million isexpected to increase the overall propertytax levy by only one percent — whichis estimated to be a one-time $40 taxincrease on a home with a $200,000market value.

For a senior citizen with a similarvalue home and the maximum “aged”tax exemption, the tax increase is esti-mated to be $20.

This modest tax levy increase is pos-sible because the tax levy will be used to

pay only a small portion o the overallcost. There will be three other sources o money as well, as described below.

1. The Board o Education has beenplanning to move the district ofcesout o the Hostetter Building or sev-eral years and has set aside money orthis rom the 2009 Hostetter ood in-surance settlement. In the same waythat amilies use a down payment to reduce how much they need toborrow or a loan, the board plans to

apply $2.7 million in revenue towardthe cost o reerendum projects. Thusthe district will be bonding only upto $31.5 million, not the entire $34.2million.

2.Bonding $31.5 million is expectedto result in the need to make annualpayments o $2,506,310 or 15 years.However, an estimated $1,936,350

o this will be paid annually byNY state in the orm o state

building aid. Reerendum proj-ects were chosen and designed

in ways that maximize the buildingaid BH-BL can receive. Almost all o the 33 projects meet criteria to be“state aidable,” meaning that roughlythree-quarters o the cost o thoseprojects (both principal and interest)will be reimbursed to us in annualstate aid payments.

3. The annual budget currently includes$215,000 or capital expenses relatedto the 2009 reerendum, which

Building Our 2nd CenturyThe BH-BL school district was cre-

ated nearly a century ago in 1915 whenthe residents served by three one-roomschools voted to join orces and so be-came the second ever “consolidated”school district in NY state. These or-ward thinking citizens decided to buildtheir own high school so that localchildren no longer needed to take thetrain to Schenectady or Ballston Spa togo beyond an 8th grade education.

In 1920 what was then called the“Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake School o Agriculture and Homemaking” heldits frst graduation ceremony or twostudents at what is now Stevens school.

Nearly 100 years later, we need tobe as orward thinking as these citizens

were.

How should our acilities be changedto help prepare children or their livesand careers in the coming decades? What repairs should we make now to

extend the useul lie and eectivenesso existing school acilities? How canwe accomplish what is needed yet limi

any local property tax impact by usingstate money available or this?

Answers to all these questionsand more are part o the October 22reerendum.

would no longer be needed, reeinthis money to be applied toward thenew reerendum.

4. This would leave a projected $355,0annual cost to be paid by an increain the tax levy. To generate thismuch money, by 2017-18 the distriwould need to increase the tax levyby an estimated one percent, whichwould translate into raising taxes on$200,000 market-value home by $4

The BH-BL tradition is to addressthese issues in fve-year cycles. Every fto six years starting in 1983, BH-BL haadopted a renovations plan to identiy,fx, and pay or our most pressing in-rastructure needs. The goal is not onlyto keep acilities in good working ordebut to fx small problems beore they cgrow into big, more expensive problem

Refecting community inputEach fve-year renovations plan has

started with a committee o residentsand sta who studied and then priori-tized potential projects and made recomendations to the Board o EducationThe 2013 Renovations Committee in-cluded 28 people careully chosen to include parents and sta rom each schoand rom various walks o lie.

Committee members met rom Jan

ary to June to evaluate potential projec




BH-BL Bullet

October 201

page

SPE CI ALRE

FEREND UM EDI TI ON

What projects does the reerendum include?

Proposition wordingBelow is the wording o the actual

proposition that voters will fnd onthe October 22 ballot:

“Shall the Board of Education of the

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central

School District be authorized to

construct, reconstruct and equip

School District facilities, including site

improvement, original furnishings,

equipment, machinery, apparatus,

and incidental improvements and

expenses in connection therewith at

a cost not to exceed $34,172,000,

and shall the Board of Education be

authorized to issue serial bonds and

to levy real estate taxes for the cost of

such projects?”

21st Century Learning NeedsHigh School STEAM addition and relocation of the District Of fices $12,945,00021st Century classroom updates/Infrastructure improvements - All schools $2,700,500Renovate two 1st floor science laboratories - Middle School $577,000Renovate three 2ndfloor science laboratories - Middle School $1,053,000

Addition of workroom/small group learning space - Charlton Heights $524,000 Addition of workroom/small group learning space - Pashley $394,000Upgrade/renovate library media center - Stevens $99,000Renovate High school library & creation of Learning Commons $891,000Renovate High School Red Room to a multimedia auditorium $178,000Renovate High School Blue Room to a Black Box Theatre $404,000Renovate High School to create a student-run satellite store/bank $86,000Total: $19,851,500

Critical Infrastructure & Energy Conservation NeedsRoofing: replace oldest, most deteriorated areas in our 11 acres of roofing $2,099,000Improve classroom electrical access, install more electrical outlets $944,000Replace/installfire alarm systems $449,000

Replace master clock & public address systems $893,000Renovate bathrooms in the worst condition in all 5 schools $995,500Reconstruct/replace deteriorated window sills $264,000Replace classroom asbestos-containingfloor tiles $368,000Repave Pashley entrance & parking lot $344,000Demolish original Stevens garage & construct pole barn at High School $719,000Replace classroom door locksets & closers at High School & Stevens $99,000Replace historic gym windows at Stevens $350,000Total: $7,524,500

Athletics & Physical Education NeedsRenovate High School track & lighting, install multi-purpose turf field $2,970,000Renovate High School gym $290,000Renovate all 3 elementary school gyms $454,000

Remove Middle School tennis courts, replace with topsoil & seed $36,000Construct new exterior restrooms on end of High School science wing $203,000Renovate & expand High School phys. ed. classroom/fitness center $1,074,000Total: $5,027,000

Safety & Security NeedsRestructure Middle School traf fic areas & construct a secure entrance vestibule $769,000Restructure Stevens traf fic area & construct separate parking for parents/staff $697,000Reconstruct Stevens main of fice, adding a secure entrance vestibule $250,000

Add security doors at the High School gym lobby $40,000Renovate High School nurse’s of fice, cabinets $13,000Total: $1,769,000

Grand Total: $34,172,000

Note: Project fgures given below are estimates prepared by our architectural

frm. Actual costs will be determined by seeking bids rom contractors, but in nocase can the district exceed the overall dollar amount authorized by the voters.

MORE INFORMATION: Spacein this newsletter is limited, so we hopeyou will also visit the district website toview much more referendum infor-mation, including maps of changesproposed in all five schools. Seewww.bhbl.org/referendum/index.cfm

DAVID VERSOCKI,BH-BL PARENT,

NERIC ASSISTANTDIRECTOR &

RENOVATIONSCOMMITTEE

CO-CHAIR

I was very

pleased with the will-

ingness o committee

members to listen and

consider the views o

others. Analyzing so

many projects was

not easy. But every

committee member

had opportunities to

express their opinions,

and in the end the

most important proj-

ects rose to the top.

“

”

and identiy the best ways to:

▶ Address inrastructure needs thatare limiting students’ ability to beprepared or 21st century careers,

▶ Address critical areas o deterioration& reduce annual energy costs, and

▶ Improve student saety.

“Using a broadly based committeelike this to help the district gauge com-munity values is a real BH-BL strength,”says superintendent Patrick McGrath.“School acilities should reect a com-

munity’s values and should be changedthrough a careul, deliberate process tocome to consensus on what residentscan aord and most want or their chil-dren and grandchildren.”




BH-BL Bulletin

October 2013

page 4


D I T I O N What does “21st Century Learning”mean?

How will these projects improve instruction?

SHERYL LABH-BL PA

ATHASSOCIA

MEMBRENOVAT

COMMME

You can tell by

the top results our kids

achieve that they

work hard, both in

the classroom and on

the playing feld.They deserve

better acilities.

I also think the multi-

sport tur feld makes

good economic sense

and will be in constant

use.

“

”

One o the most excit-ing aspects o the reerendum is howmuch it will improve and extend class-

room spaces to accommodate changes inhow students learn in the 21st century.In act, while the overall square oot-age o the district would decrease dueto the closing o the Hostetter Building,the amount o space devoted to studentlearning would actually increase.

A hallmark o 21st century learningis today’s easy availability o inormation.In the past, a primary role o schoolswas to transmit inormation to students.Small classrooms, lectures, and desks

in neatly lined rows served schoolswell. In the 21st century, the challengeor schools is very dierent. One smallcomputer or smartphone holds infnitelymore inormation than any traditionaltextbook, lecture, or library o the past.

Teachers now teach students how toaccess, sort, flter, and use the inorma-tion that could otherwise so easily inun-date them. Classroom spaces must allowstudents to collaborate, communicate,design, create, invent, solve problems,and think critically. This is the essence o 21st century learning.

Classroom upgrades in allschools

The reerendum includes nearly $1million to upgrade electrical inrastruc-ture and provide ample access to electri-cal power in all classrooms, plus $2.7million or other classroom upgradesacross the board. Because some but notall classrooms have been upgraded invarious ways in the past, the plan is to

bring each classroom up to a commondistrict standard with regard to suchthings as lighting, doors, wireless cover-age, projection, electrical access, heatingand ventilation.

High school STEAM additionTechnology has transormed the

modern workplace, and it isimportant that our acilitieskeep pace. The proposed proj-ect would und an addition onthe southwest corner o the

high school that would be de-

voted to applied arts and technology. TheSTEAM (science, technology, engineering,arts & mathematics) addition would in-

clude labs or hands-on work in areas suchas advanced manuacturing, robotics, elec-tronics, computer science, graphic design,applied math, 2-D and 3-D art, computer-aided design, and digital music.

“We’re not trying to re-create whatGlobal Foundries, the College o NanoscaleScience and Engineering, or General Elec-tric has, but we can’t have 1950s-era acili-ties either,” explains superintendent PatrickMcGrath. “Our classrooms need to serveas a bridge or students to the ways that

modern workplaces operate. This projectwill do that.”

High School LibraryLibraries have been shiting

away rom the traditional imageo just a quiet study space withshelves o books to a more vibrant,interactive, technology-based cen-ter o inormation.

In order or the high schoollibrary to become even more o a hub or teaching, learning and

research, the layout within the cur-rent ootprint needs to be recon-fgured. The envisioned “LibraryLearning Commons” would makeuse o wasted space, condense theshelving, and create more adapt-able spaces. It would include seat-ing conducive to study and quietreading, ample access to technol-ogy, and multi-use rooms or smallgroup meetings, trainingsand presentations.

Continued on page 8




BH-BL Bullet

October 201

page

SPE CI ALRE

FEREND UM EDI TI ON

Why are several physical education & sports projects included this time?

The 2013 reerendumincludes more money

or physical education and athletics thanprevious reerenda did in part simplybecause these acilities have had so ewupdates in the past. People sometimesorget that school gyms and playingfelds are also classrooms — or thephys. ed. classes that every child takes.Over time these acilities deteriorate andneed major overhauls too.

Our district is committed to educat-ing the whole child, which includes pro-moting exercise and wellness at all ages,and to giving children skills in a widerange o areas rom academics to art,music, athletics, and career readiness, to

name a ew.

The reerendum includes unds torepair and reurbish the gyms in our

schools. The badly deteriorated middleschool tennis courts would be removed(and grant unding is being explored totry to replace these). High school spacecurrently devoted to the under-utilized“wrestling room” and to the adjoining,crowded ftness center would be recon-structed so that students and teacherscan better use both rooms.

Replacing the track & one feldThe largest athletics project would

provide $2,970,000 to reconstruct theexisting high school track, improvelighting in the track area, and replace thecurrent grass ootball feld with a slightlywider, multi-purpose artifcial tur feld.

The new feld would be wide enoughto accommodate our sports rather than just one. It would be striped or soccer,lacrosse, feld hockey, and ootball.

Given the popularity o these sportsin our towns, this multi-use feld is ex-pected to be in constant demand nine

months o the year — during the day, orphys. ed. classes; aterschool, or prac-tices and games by our 18 interscholasticboys and girls varsity, junior varsity,and 9th grade/modifed teams in thesesports; and in the evenings, or non-school, town and community teams aswell as interscholastic teams.

Another huge advantage o an arti-fcial tur feld is its durability. It can beused all day, every day and evening —even in rainy or bad weather i needed— compared to a traditional feld wherethe grass (and mud) must requently beallowed to dry out and to rest and re-grow ater heavy use. “There are weeksat a time in the spring when we can’t use

this feld because it’s too wet,” notes ath-letic director Bob McGuire.

Modern tur felds are very dierentrom the concrete under-layer that wasfrst used in the 1960s and caused inju-ries. Today’s felds are made with plastic“grass” over a resilient rubber base and

Continued on page 8

Detail o the STEAM addition: First Floor

Detail o the STEAM addition: Second Floor

Proposed Improvements to theHigh School Building

Plus Classroom Upgrades throughout all schools




BH-BL Bulletin

October 2013

page 6


D I T I O N How will these projects

improve student saety?

The reerendum includes $1.8 mil-lion or several important saety projects,

which would be among the frst projectsto be completed, probably during thesummer o 2014.

As many parents had requested, thispast summer BH-BL installed new elec-tronic locks and a security card accesssystem at entrances to all fve schools tobetter control access into the schools dur-ing class hours. Secure main entrance ves-tibules are a second important part o thissystem, but money in the annual budgetwas sufcient to install ully unctioning

vestibules at only three o fve schools.The reerendum would und the

more substantial work needed to recon-struct the main entrances o the middleschool and Stevens elementary. Securitydoors would also be added to the highschool gym lobby.

Having only one drop-o area at Stevens Elementary causes multiple problems. Cars must w or buses and buses wait or cars, which requently causes trafc to back up onto Lakehill Ro A key eature o the proposed redesign is to create a new drop-o / pick-up loop or cars only

Separate drop-o areas orcars and buses will meanmore saety or pupils andless congestion on LakehillRoad or drivers becausecars and buses will nolonger have to wait or oneanother to enter and exit.

Other saety eaturesinclude: moving the play-

grounds arther rom theroad and adding parkingspots so parents will nolonger need to park on theshoulders o Lakehill daily.

Proposed New Stevens ElementaryTrafc Plan & Improvements

Plus Classroom Upgrades throughout all schools

Main ofcesecurityredesign

Stevens ElementarySchool

Lakehill Road

E x i s t i n g p a r k i n g a r e a

Original deterioratedgarage will be demol-ished to add parkingspaces.

Modifed blacktopplay area that canalso be used as extraevening parking

Bus drop o area

New student drop-o loop + short term parking

Gate

New coveredstairs Relocated

sandbox

Playground

Gym renovations& replace historicwindows

Library Media

Center renovation

ADA-compliant Sidewalk

Stevens school has a second seriousissue that the reerendum would address:unsae student drop-o conditions. Thecongestion and delays shown in the

photo above result rom parents andbuses trying to drop o students at theschool’s main entrance simultaneously.This causes highway backups and par-ents parking on the side o Lakehill andcrossing this busy road to escort theirchildren into school. The reerendum

includes unds to build a separate par-ent drop-o loop just east o the existindriveway, away rom bus trafc.

Improvements would also be madein the middle school trafc pattern.Changes to the orientation o the parking lot and new curbs will add parkingspaces and allow or a smoother, saerow o trafc during peak drop-o andpick-up times.




BH-BL Bullet

October 201

page

SPE CI ALRE

FEREND UM EDI TI ON

What other actors should voters weigh in this reerendum?

Residents sometimesask why the estimates

or these projects are so high and shouldunderstand that the market and the con-tractors’ bids we receive will determinethe actual fnal cost o each project. Theestimates given or the proposed 33 proj-ects were prepared by our architecturalfrm and include unds or architecturaland legal services and contingencies. Theestimates are conservative to ensure thereerendum includes enough money todo all the work described here.

Residents can rest assured that allprojects will be sent to bid, as requiredby law. This allows the district to selectthe lowest bid or work that will meet

our detailed specifcations. In our expe-rience, the actual cost o renovations o-ten comes in lower than initial estimates.

Several actors make school renova-

Yes, it sure does. Moststate revenue comes rom the sales taxesand income taxes paid by residents andbusinesses all across NY. But these are

taxes we will all be paying whether or notthe BH-BL referendum is approved.

The inrastructure needs and thestudent learning needs here at BH-BLare just as real as the needs in New YorkCity, Bualo, neighboring districts oranywhere else in the state. And BH-BL

residents have just as much right to usestate money to meet those needs — aslong as the money is being spent wisely.

This is one reason why the Reno-vations Committee included so manyresidents: to ensure that the value andnecessity o all proposed renovationprojects has been careully scrutinized bya number o community members.

Three-quarters o the reerendum may be paid by the state,but doesn’t that money come rom my pocket as well?

tions more expensive than people mightexpect, including state prevailing wagelaws and the state Wicks law. Also,school building codes are much stricterthan home building codes particularly asregards fre prevention. Another actor isthat very ew projects can be done whenschool is in session rom September to June. Squeezing projects into three sum-mer months and competing with otherschool districts to use that time windowtends to drive bids up.

On the other hand, projects in thisreerendum will increase the district’soperating efciency in several ways,particularly due to closing the HostetterBuilding. Moving the district ofces to

the high school and making the addi-tions proposed in the reerendum wouldbring about a net reduction in the dis-trict’s overall ootprint by approximately

An area o the Pashley school roo that isscheduled or replacement shows what canhappen ater more than 20 years in our climate. This roofng was last replaced in1989. Some tiles have been removed in aneort to fnd and seal leaks in the under-layer. There are also weeds growing in theintersections between most tiles.

MATT SARGEN,HIGH SCHOOL

HEADCUSTODIAN &RENOVATIONS

COMMITTEEMEMBER

“I take pride and

the entire custodial

team takes pride inthe high school build-

ing. The kids see this

& they take that pride

to the next level. They

participate in the

cleanliness and main-

tenance, and they treat

it very well. That’s one

reason why I’m eager

to see these projects

completed and thebuilding updated.

“

”

31,000 square eet and hereby reducethe annual bill or natural gas.

“This plan would allow us to elimi-nate our least energy-efcient space — at

Hostetter — and replace it with modernenergy-efcient space,” notes McGrath.

Any new acilities bring with themthe need to plan or their maintenance.For example, typically an artifcial tur feld will need to be resuraced in eightto ten years, and new roos will need tobe added to the replacement schedule.

As always, the school board will con-sider several options in planning how topay or such repairs. For instance, theschool board may decide to put the ex-

pected uture costs to resurace the trackand the tur feld into uture fve-yearrenovation cycles. Another option mightbe to establish a repair reserve.



BH-BL Bulletin

October 2013

page 8

S P E

C I A L R E F E R E N D U M E D

I T I O N

Burnt Hills Ballston Lake Central Schools

50 Cypress Drive

Glenville, NY 12302

518 / 399-9141

www.bhbl.orgPatrick McGrath, Superintendent

Christy Multer & Tara Mitchell,Editors & photographers

Produced in cooperation with the CapitalRegion BOCES Communications Service

Board of Education

Lee-Ann Mertzlut, President

John Blowers

Elizabeth Herkenham

Patre Kuziak

Jennier Longtin

James Maughan

Joe Pericone

NON PROFIT ORUS POSTAGE

PAIDAlbany, NY

Permit No. 79

WHEN to

WHERE to

WHO can

Election Day:The vote will be held on Tuesday, October 22, in the High Schoolgymnasium at 88 Lakehill Road. The polls will be open rom 7:00 AMto 9:00 PM.

Voter Qualifcations:All voters must be U.S. citizens, age 18 or older on election day,residents o the BH-BL school district, and registered.

You are already eligible to vote on October 22 i you are registeredwith your County Board o Elections to vote in a general election. I you are not already registered, you may register in person or by mailwith your County Board o Elections through October 17.

Absentee Voting:Registered voters may vote by absentee ballot i they cannot appear athe polling place on October 22. To receive an absentee ballot, frst flout an application rom Clerk o the Board Christopher Abdoo at thedistrict ofce OR rom the BH-BL website.

The completed application must be returned to Mr. Abdoo at leastseven days beore the reerendum i you wish to have the ballot maileto you, or at least one day beore the election i you wish to pick upthe ballot personally at the district ofce rom 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Absentee ballots must be completed and returned to Mr. Abdoo nolater than 5:00 pm on October 22 or they cannot be counted. Pleasecall 399-9141, ext. 85025 or ext. 85017 i you have questions.

VoteVote

are both soter and saer. Typically the surace grass layer o an artifcial tur feld will last at least eight to ten years beoreneeding to be replaced.

The fnal athletics-related project in the reerendum isconstruction o additional bathrooms at the end o the sci-ence wing near the playing felds and concession stand. Thesewould beneft the entire community since the high school

currently has no exterior bathrooms despite the hun-dreds o games and other community events heldoutdoors year-round.

Facilities in the high school wood and metal technology classrooms are out-dated and have barely been upgraded in fty years. The proposed STEAMaddition will give students a very dierent view o technology, one that canexcite and motivate them to work hard and start preparing or the manykinds o high-paying jobs available right here in the Capital Region with botha two-year and our-year college degree.

In addition to the initiatives describes above, the reer-endum includes many other improvements to instructionalspaces. Among these are renovated middle school science labs,a black-box theatre and modern presentation center in the cur-rent high school red and blue rooms, and new, small exible-use teacher-student workspaces in the elementary schools.

21st century learning Continued rom page 4

Athletic projects Continued rom page 5

Documents

BHBL Bond Issue