The school district is at a crossroads! We have actually been at this crossroads for quite some time.
The crossroad in this scenario is where the old crosses with the new. The old road is the road that continues to look at the leaks in the hallways, classrooms and stairwells; the classrooms that are not up to current codes; and many other projects, and chooses to throw band-aids at each project, hoping they work and watching the bills pile up when they don't. I know the old road. I was on the old road. It is bumpy! It can be no fun to ride.
The new road involves addressing these problems and getting them fixed--finally. The new road does cost more than the old road. However, the time to fix the problems is absolutely, NOW. I have been asked the questions: "Why don't you apply for the construction grants that the state is making available?" The answer is that we got our share of state grants that helped cover some of the costs for the wonderful facility we use everyday. The problem is that there are 100's of districts competing for the grants and because we were granted money years ago, our project would be dropped to the bottom of the priority list. So the state has said that instead of the grant funds, they will pay 58.7% of the debt service for the project.
The projects we are asking for are all projects that are labelled as Level I and Level II projects by the state of NJ. These projects involve school safety, code upgrades, maintaining the integrity of the facility and the use of renewable, clean solar energy. These projects will allow us to take the water collection barrels out of the stairwells and hallways, bring the building up to code and provide the school with a consistent stream of solar electricity that will further decrease our bills and our impact on the environment.
We can get off one road and on to the other road. Come out on December 9th and let your voice be heard.
Till next time...
2 comments:
What is the ROI on the use of renewable, clean solar energy?
Also, are there any problems with the new roof?
And finally where will the children be while all this work is being done?
Great questions! Our architects are telling us the return on investment, based on fact that the state will fund 58% of the project, will be approximately two years. We will be exploring some new solar funding options as well, which may allow us to move the project along at an even greater savings to the district.
The new roof is fine. We do have some issue where water comes in however, it appears they are related to water moving in from the old roof.
There will be no children in the building during the construction.
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