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Board to seek $16.6 million in May ballot proposition to add air conditioning, no tax impact claimed
Summary
Trustees described a Proposition 2 asking voters to authorize $16.6 million for capital work including air conditioning in three elementary buildings and facility upgrades; district officials said the plan uses reserves and building aid to avoid a tax increase.
Mister Cahill, a district business official, described a capital proposition the board expects to place on the May 20, 2025 ballot that would authorize $16,600,000 for additional work tied to the district’s ongoing capital project.
Cahill said the request would fund air-conditioning work at three buildings — Pine Tree, North Main and Central Valley — and related conversions from steam heating to hot-water systems. He described the technical scope as installing a new boiler, new piping and new unit ventilators so classrooms can be air conditioned. The board also intends to add walls and doors at North Main to close portions of open‑plan classrooms and to perform electrical upgrades at other buildings, which Cahill said would allow the installation of window‑mounted air conditioners if needed.
"The total cost of that proposition would be $16,600,000," Cahill said, and described the proposal as "Proposition 2" for the May ballot.
Cahill told the board the district planned to use $5,300,000 from its capital reserve and borrow the remainder; he said projected debt service would be offset by state building aid so the package would have "no tax impact." Cahill framed the timing as cost effective while the larger $98 million construction project is in the design and early construction phase.
The presentation also referenced a recently enacted New York State "heat index" requirement that limits occupancy of instructional spaces above 88 degrees; Cahill said that requirement increases the urgency of adding cooling or other mitigations in classrooms.
Board members and the capital project task force will discuss the plan further at upcoming meetings, including a capital advisory task force session scheduled for March 27, and during the construction phase of the broader $98 million project planned to begin in the summer.
The board did not adopt final construction contracts at the March 19 meeting; Cahill presented the proposition and financing approach for board review and future action by voters.
