Staff Writer

ONEONTA — With a public vote about two weeks away, city school district officials have been trying to get the word out that a proposed $14.7 million building project is necessary.

The Oneonta Board of Education approved the project last month, and the public will vote Dec. 10.

"It's just not as glitzy as a new wing or new technology," said Thomas Austin, the school business administrator. "But it is all needed."

Austin and Superintendent James Piscitelli said Tuesday that repairs included in the project, which will cover all five district buildings, must be done before minor problems become major ones.

"We have roofs that are leaking, and we do have pipes that are deteriorating in the walls," Piscitelli said.

Oneonta isn't the only local district in the building project process. Morris Central School just completed a project, and Laurens and Edmeston central schools have plans in the works, officials said.

Edmeston Superintendent James Polunci said a public vote for the district's proposed $5 million project is tentatively scheduled for February.

The district originally planned to hold the referendum in December, but delays — including the New York State Historical Association not approving the plan to knock down four houses to extend the school's drop-off/pick-up driveway — have postponed it, Polunci said.

The project includes fixing roofs and septic systems, repaving the parking lot and building a new cafeteria, athletic fields and the drop-off zone.

Gilbertsville-Mount Upton Central School is also studying the possibility of a building project, while Laurens Central School officials are gearing up for a vote some time this spring.

"It is going to be an addition and renovation project," Laurens Superintendent Romona Wenck said, noting that plans include a new gymnasium, a performing arts center, multiple classrooms and athletic fields.

No final cost has been set, Wenck said.

In Oneonta, Austin said that, despite the $14.7 million price tag, the project will not raise taxes.

"We've planned this to have an equal level of tax levy support," Austin said. "The timing is right now."

In the next several years, the district will finish paying off several other projects, such as a Valleyview Elementary School renovation done in the early 1990s and a high school science wing renovation, Austin said.

The payments for the new project will simply take the place of old project payments, he said. Also, the state pays the district 68.7 cents for every dollar spent on building and renovation projects, Austin and Piscitelli said.

"For every 31.3 cents we spend on building, we get a dollar of work," Piscitelli said.

A plan of replacing old payments with new ones is ideal, if schools can work it into their building schedule, said Marie Warchol, superintendent of the Otsego Northern Catskills Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

"That's one way not to feel the pinch in the tax levy," Warchol said. "If the timing works out, it's ideal."

Project specifics came out of a state-required building condition survey done in 2001, Oneonta school officials said, and include an elevator at Center Street Elementary School, food service equipment, roofing, fuel oil storage tanks, paving, electrical and ventilation systems and asbestos abatement.

If approved by voters, Piscitelli said, construction probably won't begin until summer 2004. After voter approval, contractors will take between four and six months to design project details, he said.

Then the state Education Department will need up to six months to examine and approve the project, Austin said.

Once started, construction will be staggered to disrupt school as little as possible, he said. Although the project could begin in summer 2004, some construction might not start until summer 2005, Austin said.

"Because of its effect on every one of the buildings," he said, "you don't want huge amounts of construction every summer."

Although no public hearing has been planned for Oneonta's project, Piscitelli and Austin said they have been making the rounds to area clubs and organizations explaining the scope and necessity of the project.

"Rather than sitting back and waiting for people to come to us, Piscitelli said, "we're going to them."

DISTRICT'S PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS

The Oneonta City School District has proposed a $14.7 million building project that residents will vote on Dec. 10.

Improvements and costs in the proposal include:

Center Street Elementary School

• Doors/walls to enclose stairways, stair stringer replacement

• Elevator and shaft to access second floor, wheelchair lift to access stage

• Curtain wall, entrance framing, window to 1961 addition

• Food service equipment

• Ventilation, air handling units, boiler/burners, exhaust fans, fuel oil storage tank, control system

• Backflow preventer

• Main electrical power, telecommunications/sound system

Total cost: $861,255

Greater Plains Elementary School

• Base cabinets, chalkboards

• Ceiling tile, flooring

• Toilet partitions/accessories

• Food service equipment

• Miscellaneous doors and hardware

• Window replacement

• Handicapped accessibility

• Asbestos abatement

• Sand and refinish gym floor

• Repave existing parking lot

• Replace existing playground equipment

• Ventilation, air handling units, exhaust fans, fuel oil storage tank and control system

• Backflow preventer, valves, fixtures, water piping

• Lighting, clock system, wiring/receptacles, fire alarm system, main distribution system, power panels, telecommunications/ sound system, security system

Total cost: $3,014,897

Riverside Elementary School

• Base cabinets, chalkboard

• Ceiling tile, flooring

• Toilet partitions/accessories

• Food service equipment

• Miscellaneous doors and hardware

• Window replacement

• Handicapped accessibility

• Asbestos abatement

• Sand and refinish gym floor

• Repave existing parking lot, parking lot lighting

• Baseball backstop

• Ventilation, air handling units, exhaust fans, fuel oil storage tank, control system

• Backflow preventer, valves, fixtures, water piping

• Lighting, clock system, wiring/receptacles, fire alarm system main distribution system, power panels, telecommunications/ sound system, security system

Total cost: $2,446,383

Valleyview Elementary School

• Asbestos abatement

• Food service equipment

• Roofing

• Paving

• Baseball backstop

• Add playground equipment

Total cost: $733,100

Oneonta Middle School

• New gym lockers

• Science room casework/tops

• Food service equipment

• Sand and refinish gym floor

• Roofing in gym and locker room

• Repave existing parking lot, service drive, loading dock area and access drive

• Sidewalk replacement

• Replace stairs at gym

Oneonta High School

• Food service equipment

• Pool locker room upgrades

• Gym floor replacement

• Air condition auditorium

• Roofing — original building, including gym and auditorium roof

• Access ladders to high roofs

Total cost for middle and high schools: $4,076,875

SAVE THE DATE

The following are days of note regarding the Oneonta City School District building project proposal:

Dec. 3: Last day to receive absentee ballots, available at district offices at 189 Main St., by mail.

Dec. 9: Last day to personally deliver absentee ballots to district offices.

Dec. 10: Public vote, noon to 9 p.m., all poll locations.

For more information about the project or voting, call Eileen Lishansky, district clerk, at 433-8232.

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Carolyn Norton can be reached at cnorton@thedailystar.com or (607) 441-7218.