When it comes time for Farmingdale residents to exercise their right to say ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ on the school district’s 2014-2015 budget come May 20, they may notice a little something extra on their ballots; namely, whether or not the district can extract the funds from their reserves to continue a series of capital improvement projects that they’ve been working on since 2011.
At the Farmingdale Board of Education budget workshop on March 26, special attention was given to the school district’s recently completed and current capital work, which consists of a five-year facility plan that was originally adopted by the Board of Education during the 2011-2012 school year; the plan contained $28 million of needed capital improvements, Defendini said.
“As of the 2013-2014 school year, we have completed $21 million of the $28 VImillion, and we have done it in a way where we haven’t actually increased taxes to the community,” Defendini said.
He added that the district has used its capital reserves, implemented an energy performance contract and utilized in-house staff as a cost savings effort towards the facility improvement projects.
Defendini said that the reserve account that the capital improvement funds are currently housed in is comprised of money that has been accumulated over the years via the school district’s revenue. Despite the fact that using them will in no way impact the 2014-
2015 budget or take any additional money out of the pockets of taxpayers, the district’s ability to use these funds must nonetheless be put up to a public vote, which will be held on May 20 – the same day that the public gets to voice its verdict over Farmingdale schools’ spending plan for next year as well.
As for the status of the capital improvements themselves, Defendini said that the bathroom renovation project at the high school was completed in the summer of 2013; the window replacements at Howitt Middle School, Albany Avenue, and Saltzman East Memorial
elementary schools are expected to be finished before the start of the school year; and bids for the replacement of windows at Northside and Woodward Parkway elementary schools are expected to go out in the Fall.
These projects are in addition to a great many that have already been completed throughout the district, including flooring and ceiling replacement, lighting, smart boards, playgrounds, gym equipment, computer labs, security cameras, offices, and more; Defendini stressed that these projects are coming at no cost to taxpayers, and in the long run will save the district money and benefit the students immensely.
“This is a large-scale project, and it has no cost to the residents, and our utilities will decrease because we will be using less electric and gas,” he said. “They will also reduce our carbon footprint, and help us to set an example for the students and the community.”
Members of the Farmingdale Board of Education will reconvene to adopt its 2014-2015 budget on April 9, before residents hit the polls for the school budget vote on May 20.
