Woodbine Mayor, School Board Reach Accord on Referendum

WOODBINE — With the Dec. 8 school referendum nearing, on Nov. 21, the mayor, borough council and school board jointly announced an agreement between all parties to revise the project’s scope in order to secure voters’ support.
As now proposed, the vote will not raise taxes.
Cost of the projects was reduced from $6,038,434 to $3,682,664. State aid will still pay for 58 percent of the projects, to $2,145,741.
Board officials “insist the effective tax impact on local residents will be zero, based upon income from state aid, earnings and savings from solar energy, library payments and other sources to fund the projects,” according to a release.
The change in the referendum resulted from a request by Mayor William Pikolycky to the school board to avoid using any of the municipality’s borrowing capacity for the project. Had the referendum been unchanged, the board would have used some of the borough’s borrowing capacity to fund the project, which, by law, it had a right to do.
Pikolycky also said that he felt some of the projects in the referendum could be funded by other sources without indebting taxpayers for the work.
Reduction in the scope of the referendum does not result in any of the projects being undone, according to Board President Melissa Rodriguez.
“I want residents to know that we are committed to complete all the projects we advertised to the community these past few months,” state Rodriguez in the release. “And we will complete them on the same calendar, by the fall of 2011,” she added.
What has changed is the manner in which some projects will be funded, according to the agreement between both parties.
According to District Architect Louis DeLosso of Design Collaborative, certain projects originally in the referendum will be moved to another sate program, “Regular Operating District” or ROD grants.
“We are going to so some projects anyway through ROD grants. Now, we’re simply adding to the list,” said DeLosso.
District literature had shown the following were to be done through the ROD grants:
* New boiler and pump.
* Updated ventilator control.
* Upgraded energy-efficient classroom lights with energy-saving occupancy sensors.
Cost of that was $5,127,813 with the state funding $307,536.
The ROD grant list will not grow with the addition of $2,355,907 in projects pulled from the referendum.
The items being pulled from the referendum include:
* Windows, doors, hardware, unit ventilator, exhaust fans.
* Fire sprinklers in storage rooms, casework.
* Toilet upgrades to comply with The Americans with Disabilities Act for persons with handicaps.
DeLosso said those projects would be eligible for the same state aid, 58 percent as the referendum items.
Remaining in the referendum is:
* New roof with solar panels.
* Rewiring of the 1965 and 1968 classroom outlets and main office.
* Flooring.
* Removal of combustible material, kitchen grease trap.
* New kitchen equipment.
* Interior and exterior lights.
* Communications system and a secure vestibule to protect pupils from intruders, which is not eligible for ROD grants.
Items being pulled from the referendum were ineligible for certain grants when the board first proposed the project to the public, according to Rodriguez.
“Of course, we welcome the scaling back of the referendum,” she stated. “We would have made the ROD grant list longer had those items been eligible for other funding at the time,” she added.
Rodriguez also noted her confidence the board and borough would come up with the matching funds needed under the ROD grant rules, 42 percent of the cost of each project for the district.
The state will fund 5 percent.
Had the projects remained in the referendum, the district would have sold bonds to pay its share.
Now, it will use “Small Cities” grants the borough is confident it can secure, according to the release.
Earnings from the sale of the energy credits from the solar panels will also help pay. Those credits, known as SRECs are certificates that utility companies cannot meet the state-mandated quota of producing a percentage of its energy from renewable sources.
The district expects to earn $156,800 annually, on average, for 15 years from sale of those SRECs. Those funds could be used to match the district’s obligation under the ROD grants, according to Rodriguez.
“We’ve been assured that all the projects originally described in the referendum will be done, and within the original calendar,” state Superintendent Lynda Anderson-Towns. “As we speak, we are preparing ROD grant applications for the projects we’re pulling out of the referendum,” she added.
DeLosso stated that one the community approves the referendum, more state funds become available to reduce the cost of the projects even further.
“The school district entered into this historic agreement with the borough and the mayor to show solidarity to the community that all agree the projects are necessary for the health, welfare and safety of the students,” said Rodriguez.
The agreement between the council, mayor and school board states that the school district’s projects further the objectives of the Borough of Woodbine’s Rural Sustainability Plan. It also cites the borough’s reputation for sustainability as it receives an award from the League of Municipalities for its certification as a sustainable community.
As the district moves on the projects on Dec. 8, the board president asked voters to consider language from the agreement:
“…Productive and cooperative engagement between the Borough and the School District, both of whom share a common goal of providing safe, efficient and quality physical, environment to enhance the overall positive educational experience for the students of the Borough of Woodbine.
The referendum will be held Dec. 8 from 2-8 p.m. at the Ambulance Hall (District 1) and Woodbine Firehouse (District 2).
For information about the referendum, call Anderson-Towns at (609) 861-5174.