Ithaca school board reviews $43M facilities plan; staff authorized to prepare referendum materials

The Ithaca City School District board on Tuesday discussed a proposed multi-year capital project, including roofing replacements, fire alarm upgrades, HVAC work, science-classroom renovations and other deferred-maintenance work, and directed staff to prepare the resolutions and referendum materials needed to bring a public vote before the board later this fall.

The plan under discussion would seek voter authorization to borrow in the low‑tens of millions per year across multiple phases; presenters described a draft authorization figure in the low $40 millions (variously discussed as about $43.5 million to $43.9 million) and said any borrowing would be phased over several years so the district would not issue the entire authorization at once. "We're targeting a December 9 public vote date," said Chris, the district's construction manager, as he reviewed schedule options.

The board heard detail on major components: roofing work at Boynton, BJM and Caroline schools; replacement of aging fire-alarm systems at Ithaca High School and South Hill so first responders can pinpoint alarms more quickly; science-room casework and gas-system upgrades at DeWitt and Boynton; vinyl-asbestos-tile abatement at the high school; bleacher replacement and gym floor repairs; playground replacements and parking/paving work; nursing-suite accessibility improvements; upgrades to electrical infrastructure to support future electric-vehicle charging; and controls and HVAC work to back up recently installed unit ventilators.

Administrators and consultants repeatedly stressed that the voter authorization is a capacity to borrow, not immediate borrowing or cash in hand. As the construction manager explained, "When you seek authorization from the public to approve bonding capacity up to a certain amount, that is what the voters are giving you authorization to do. It's not that you suddenly go out and borrow all that money."

Financial adviser Ben Maslona told the board the district remains within its long-standing guideline of keeping total debt service at about 7% of the budget and that the district's building-aid ratio (the state reimbursement rate for eligible capital work) is 58.1%. Maslona said the project would likely be built and financed in phases (roughly $15 million per year in the consultants' example) to match cash-flow needs and to avoid permanently financing money that the district does not yet need.

Board members pressed for unit costs and detail. One trustee asked why a $5.1 million figure had been proposed for the fire-alarm work and whether the benefits (reduced classroom interruption and improved life-safety response) justified that cost. Presenters said the figure covered work across roughly 300,000 square feet (approaching a third of district space), that parts of the existing systems are at the end of life and that inflation and market conditions have pushed prices higher. Staff also noted supply-chain lead times — "We've experienced a year and a half plus" for transformers — as a driver of early procurement planning.

Presenters and board members emphasized the work would be further scoped and vetted before any specific contract or bid award. The board did not vote to approve borrowing; instead, members consented to have staff and the district's advisers prepare the necessary resolutions and referendum language for board consideration in September and to continue committee-level review (facilities, finance and OACM) before any final action. "We will come back to the board with the specific packages, to seek your approval every step of the way," the construction manager said.

The next formal step described by staff was drafting resolutions and referendum language for the board to consider in late September (staff later clarified the board's next regular meeting is Sept. 30), with a 45‑day statutory minimum between adoption of referendum resolutions and the public vote. If the board instructs staff to proceed, administration and advisers said they will begin public outreach, hold informational sessions, and refine phasing and cost estimates prior to any vote.

Details and context: board members and consultants repeatedly warned that the figures discussed are planning estimates that include construction and soft costs (design, bidding, prevailing wages, contingencies and escalation). Ben Maslona noted state rules that limit how much aid the district can claim for particular buildings (maximum cost allowances) and said the district and its advisers would work to match proposed scopes to those allowances to maximize reimbursable work.