Huntington School Board members voted unanimously on Monday night to put a pair of capital reserve fund propositions on the May 15 ballot to cover costs associated with various renovation and repair projects around the district.
The first proposition would fund $2.786 million worth of projects at Huntington High School, Woodhull Intermediate School, Flower Hill Primary School, Jefferson Primary School and Washington Primary School.
Since the funds for the proposed projects already exist in capital reserve funds account, the district will not have to borrow any money, incur interest or raise taxes. The district will also be eligible for state aid on a percentage of the expenditures associated with the projects.
The projects that will be on the May 15 ballot include:
Flower Hill Primary School
• Install a security vestibule addition: $100,000
• Replacement of the building’s roof: $1,560,000
Jefferson Primary School
• Tile replacement in two student and three faculty bathrooms: $65,000
Washington Primary School
• Install a security vestibule addition: $100,000
Woodhull Intermediate School
• Replace two boilers: $800,000
• Tile replacement in 12 classroom bathrooms: $36,000
Huntington High School
• Replace two “roll-up” doors: $125,000
Total: $2,786,000 (Estimated and subject to bidding.)
“The district continues to prudently apply capital reserve funding to infrastructure-related projects,” Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky said. “The focal points of the May 15 proposition will be to continue roof replacement, incorporate the final two security vestibules, as well as include other items that have been deemed higher priority in terms of need for repair and/or replacement. Costs associated with these projects will have absolutely no impact on the tax levy or rate, as the monies are already contained within the district’s Building Improvement Funds.”
If voters support release of the funds, property taxes will not increase since the monies are already in place. No new revenues are required. The funds represent dollars previously provided to the district by taxpayers that weren’t needed to pay for regular school operations because of tight fiscal management and economizing. The source of the funding is the annual transfer of surplus monies from the district’s general fund to the two existing Building Improvement Funds.
Establish New 2018 Building Improvement Fund
The second capital related proposition approved by trustees seeks to establish a new capital reserve fund formally called the 2018 Building Improvement Fund.
It would exist “for a probable term of five years” and be funded in an “ultimate amount” of $1.5 million, according to the text of the proposition. The purpose of the fund is to cover costs “in whole or in part” related to capital improvements to the district’s facilities, “including but not limited to replacement/repair of the high school’s turf athletic field, reconstruction and masonry work and site work.
The new fund would be capitalized with monies transferred into it from the district’s existing repair reserve fund, surplus budget funds, regular budget appropriations and interest generated by the monies themselves. No bonds will be sold or monies borrowed to fund it.
