On Tuesday, Dec. 7, Jason Schwartz, Municipal Advisor of Bernard P. Donegan Inc, the financial advisors for the Highland Central School District, presented to the Board of Education two proposed Capital Project timelines for either a May 2022 board vote or a December 2022 board vote.

CSArch, an architectural firm with offices in Newburgh and Albany, presented to the board a packet of the figures included in the Capital Budget draft, pre-referendum during the Capital Projects updates portion of the meeting. No immediate decisions have been made since the meeting, according to Highland Superintendent Joel Freer.

Both project plans, depending on the vote made by the board, would not begin construction until 2023-2024 time. “We’re in the pre-planning stages of a capital project to bring forward to the community,” Freer said. Monetary figures mentioned or proposed during the meeting are not set in stone and are subject to change. “We actually asked his (Schwartz) office (Bernard P. Donegan Inc) to go back and do some determinations and comparisons of different aspects of the project before we could really see what it’s going to, how it’s going to impact the taxpayer,” Freer said. His goal is to not see a significant increase and the district has tried to stay cost-neutral. With all this mind, Freer said the district will evaluate where its priorities lie in terms of creating the final project.

Entering into a project such as this, Freer said that the New York State Department of Education requires a ‘building conditions survey’ to be conducted and items identified that would be included in the capital project which would be known as a ‘base project’.

Freer said in his introduction to the packet at the meeting that item costs listed in yellow, pink or green have not been included in the final revised project cost. Any sections of the spreadsheet that were not highlighted in a color would be included in the total number of costs, Freer said.

The original total project cost came back as a total of $31.1 million. With certain projects removed (such as the removal of the turf field and track proposed on the high school spreadsheet and other projects for the middle and elementary schools), the total number came back to $12.7 million between the three schools in the district. For example, the removal of the turf field and track sections on the high school spreadsheet was a little over $3 million. The district does have the option to raise the amount to $15.5 million staying under their cap, according to Freer.

On the spreadsheet, the Highland High School total cost proposed would have been a total of $16.9 million. The $16.9 million would have been used for a new press box, exterior bleachers, concession stand, parking lot improvements, sidewalks, roofing, lockers, gymnasium upgrades, food service office renovations, principal and assistant principal renovations, custodial office relocation/boiler room, various finishes, mechanical systems, electrical, audio and surveillance upgrades, locker rooms and other health and safety systems. The proposed minimum cost (which excludes some of these projects) comes down to $3.6 million.

Highland Middle School total project cost proposed is $4.1 million. The $4.1 million would have been used for exterior steps, stairs and ramps, exterior basketball court, a scoreboard for the field, generator, chorus room renovations, library renovations, mechanical systems, plumbing services, lighting fixtures, electrical, audio and surveillance upgrades and other health and safety systems. The proposed minimum project cost comes down to $3.4 million.

Highland Elementary School total project cost proposed is $5.8 million. The $5.8 million would have been used for the softball field, field fencing, site improvements, classroom improvements, ceiling replacements, mechanical systems, ventilation, lighting fixtures, electrical services and other health and safety systems. The proposed minimum cost comes down to $5.2 million.

The cost for a bus garage repairs and maintenance stays the same at $447,000. A new maintenance facility was not included in the final project.

The board sent the numbers back to Bernard P. Donegan Inc to review. According to Freer, the full board will be meeting to continue these discussions on January 11, 2022.