Should Kingston be declared a "sanctuary city"?
- Yes (51%, 1,639 Votes)
- No (49%, 1,555 Votes)
Total Voters: 3,194
Loading ...The $137 million Kingston High School bond issue will be voted on next Tuesday, Dec. 10. According to Kingston City School District Superintendent Paul Padalino, the state, by law, is required to reimburse the district for 60 percent of eligible construction costs, leaving a net for local taxpayers of about $55 million.
Based on current assessments, homeowners with a $200,000 assessment would pay $12 a month ($144 a year) for 20 years, commercial property owners, who are in the city taxed at a higher rate, $17 a month. “That’s about the price of a pizza, without toppings,” Padalino said at the Chamber of Commerce breakfast last month.
Should voters approve the bond issue on Dec. 10 and the state approve, Padalino said, the district expects to break ground next spring.
The major tentpoles of the plan include the demolition of the Myron J. Michael and Tobin/Whiston buildings, and a sizable addition on the Salzmann building.
As with most major building projects – especially those in public school districts where some work is done during summer when students aren’t around – the proposed renovation would unfold in stages. According to the 27-page document provided by the school district last June, construction would run from spring 2015 through fall 2018, with Tobin/Whiston coming down in summer 2016 and the MJM building in summer 2018, the former coming in at around $1.4 million and the latter roughly $1.5 million.
The Salzmann building would see an addition of 181,400 square feet, with heavy renovation of 23,200 square feet of the existing building and medium renovation of 11,400 square feet. Add in roof replacement; gut renovation of bathrooms; and plumbing, HVAC, electrical and sprinkler systems, and the total estimate in Salzmann is $65,700,000.
With the project not anticipated to be completed until the beginning of the 2018-19 school year, the first group of students who would see the plans come to fruition are still just midway through middle school.
For more information on the project, visit khsproject.com
Reporting by Hugh Reynolds and Crispin Kott
Much work has been put into the proposal. I would like to know if as much has been put into efforts ensuring that our young people will do better in the classroom and in their readiness for post high-school education or jobs.
nope
Remember
these idiots in the school board gave a local resident $$ to save land for a new hs in a flood plain.
Padalino lives in albany. People and businesses can’t afford taxes now. No government project stays on budget.
We need to use what we have and fix it.
Lots of problems with this-
4 schools closed in the area- how many new H.S. students will there be?
NYS is very careful with their money-are we on the hook for over runs?
What happens if NYS gives us a smaller sum?
Most architectural firms give you a plan B. They give you one set of plans on budget and one a little over. Was the only plan to spend over 100 million dollars? Why is there no thought-out plan B?
Will the demolition and construction workers be paid union or prevailing wages? How will we make sure?
What type of safeguards are being taken for the asbestos and lead removal? How will the safe removal be monitored?
All these concerns and others need to be worked out and in writing-verbal assurances are not worth the paper they are written on.
Also, the Superintendent, last year, encouraged students not to opt out of the common core high stakes testing. This year, most progressive NY Superintendents are against these tests- where does he stand now? Yes, it’s not fully on topic- but as the educational leader of the the district-who’s promoting this multi-year, multi-million dollar renovation- it’s important to know if he’s going to stand up for our students and say “no” to the onerous testing.
It just breaks my heart that they are going to demolish MJM…another piece of history going down…
Out with the old in with the new , it’s been long overdue the students deserve to have the best education. The tax increase is fair and reasonable