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Wednesday, December 13, 2006
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. Why are we having this bond vote now?
New York State has just enacted a new form of state aid for school district capital projects called Expanding our Children’s Education and Learning (EXCEL) Aid . High need districts like East Ramapo benefit greatly from this one-time opportunity to get needed work on buildings done at no net cost.
2. How would this bond help East Ramapo schools?
At no net cost, we would be able to do needed repairs and improvements to every one of our public school buildings in the areas of increased safety, security, health, accessibility and technology.
3. Specifically, what type of work would be undertaken in the schools?
Depending upon the particular school, the work would include replacement of doors, windows and flooring; installation of security cameras inside and outside our schools; providing elevators in multi-level schools; providing accessible bathrooms for students with physical disabilities; repairing athletic fields; asbestos removal; improving heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; and repairing exterior walls and masonry. A complete listing of projects by school is available at our web site.
4. What is the cost of the bond?
There is no net cost to East Ramapo! This is because the total cost of all projects ($14,325,000) would be fully reimbursed by New York State by a combination of Building Aid and EXCEL Aid.
5. What if the bond vote fails?
If the bond vote fails, we would need to place the more urgent repair projects into the next budget and have to defer the other projects to future budgets with a direct increase in school taxes.
6. What if the bond vote passes?
We would be able to take advantage of this one-time EXCEL Aid opportunity to maintain our public school buildings without impacting the budget or taxes. In essence, we would get $14,325,000 of needed work on our buildings done at no net cost.
7. How would these capital projects be financed?
These capital projects would be financed in three parts: first, during the construction period by temporary financing; second, by receipt from the State of $6,469,342 in EXCEL Aid; and third, by the issuance of a 15-year bond of approximately $7,855,000. With the Building Aid, the net cost to the School District would be zero.
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