The proposed school investment bond was the subject of a presentation given by James Kearney and Frank Ruggiero, two members of the ad hoc facilities committee, at Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Eastern Property Owners’ Association.

“The school board can’t tell you to vote yes for the bond, but we can, because we’ve seen what’s out there,” said Ruggiero.

Kearney, who gave the majority of the presentation, said low interest rates and work-hungry construction companies make this a good time for the school district to bond its major capital projects. “I would encourage everyone to vote, vote yes, because I really think this is the appropriate way to address these issues,” he said. “It’s really an opportune time to take advantage of this.”

The $1 million the district allocates in its annual budget for maintenance is not enough to cover the projects proposed to be included in the bond, according to Kearney. Replacement of the high school roof, which is the first project expected to begin if the bond is approved given its poor condition, will cost $2.5 million. Masonry work is needed at many of the district’s nine buildings. “Pay me now, or pay me later, but you’re going to pay me more later to do these things,” Kearney said.

Joseph Davis, who resides in the Eastern section, expressed concern that the school district has allowed the buildings to degenerate into such a state of disrepair. Kearney responded that he would advocate a “more aggressive dollar amount every year to maintain the buildings.” He said it is not unusual for an owner of an office building in Manhattan to spend $5 to $8 million a year to maintain that one building. Davis asked how he can make his opinion known to the district, and Kearney responded that the most effective way would be through the property owners’ associations.

Davis also asked what is not being included in this bond that will likely surface in a few years. Ruggiero said the administration building and bus garage are two buildings where the work being proposed is minimal compared with the need. The administration building, for example, needs an elevator to make it compliant with the American Disabilities Act.

Committee members believed it more important to focus on buildings where students attend classes. “What Frank and I did, with the help from a lot of people, is made a lot of hard decisions, tried to prioritize the list, tried to make sure that we’re doing the right thing by our district’s taxpayers,” Kearney said. “Clearly, we’re trying to do the right thing both for our community, for the kids and for the education of the school. The schools are really the key to our community. They’re the key to keeping our home values high. They’re the key to having people want to come to Garden City... I think we’re trying to do the right thing here.”

Kearney said the committee was very aware of the current state of the economy. “At this time we’re all feeling it economically and you’re trying to limit what you have to ask the voters to spend....The bond is the most prudent way financially to finance these things, and it has the lowest impact on the taxpayer over the course of time.”

If the bond is not passed, more money will have to be appropriated in the district’s annual budget to cover health and safety items. Julie Straehle commented that perhaps the budget’s “bloated” administration costs could be reduced to compensate.

“Frank and I clearly didn’t have any charge to look at the school district’s annual budget,” Kearney said. The district does not have a lot of control over many items in the budget which are mandated by the state.

Dorothy Episcopia asked if the district will be guaranteed to receive EXCEL funding. The district is looking to fund some of the projects with $1.4 million in New York State EXCEL funds. The EXCEL (Expanding our Children’s Education and Learning) grant allows districts to make improvements to education technology, health and safety areas, energy and physical capacity expansion or school construction. The public must vote on whether or not to opt into the program to be eligible for the funds. The district can only take advantage of the grant once.

Kearney said he spoke with bond counsel and he explained that the district is likely to receive the money because the grant comes from state dormitory authority bonding, which is outside the state’s annual financial mechanism. The architect said he has received the grant for all his recent projects in Nassau County, according to Kearney.

Episcopia said she is concerned that the buildings were not made ADA compliant during the last bond. Ruggiero explained that if you spend over a certain percentage on construction work in a building, by law the majority of that building must be made ADA compliant. He said the ADA work was done in the buildings that were being worked on after the 1998 bond was passed. Kearney added that elevators and ramps were installed at many of the buildings.

The 1998 bond was driven by demographics, whereas this year’s proposed bond attempts to reconfigure space for optimal use. “It’s more about using the space inside the buildings correctly for the needs that have been identified now,” Kearney said. “Frank and I looked at it from the perspective of what do you need to do to maintain these buildings and to build on for the future. Not just maintaining the structures, but also modifying the school areas for the educational needs of the 21st century.”