A committee of volunteers assembled by the Manhasset Board of Education has prioritized a list of 46 potential capital projects in the school district with an estimated cost of $30.6 million.
Presented at last Thursday’s board meeting, the Manhasset 2020 Long Range Planning Committee identified nearly four dozen potential education, program and infrastructure projects, and estimated budgets to complete them.
The committee began its work early this year with a walking tour of each of the Manhasset School District buildings (Shelter Rock and Munsey Park Elementary Schools and the Secondary School). Members evaluated each campus and listed potential capital projects to be incorporated into a long-range facilities plan for the district.
Potential projects were divided into two categories: educational/programmatic and indoor/outdoor facility improvement/infrastructure. The projects were rated based on need and cost on a scale of 1 (least important) to 5 (most important).
The committee determined 46 potential projects and seven alternative projects.
Well over half—34 of the projects—got a priority rank of 3 or above, with a total estimated cost of $27 million. The remaining 12 projects have a total estimated cost of $3.5 million. The board and administration said that a bond is being considered to pay for the work. The plan is to further evaluate the projects and determine timing and costs.
Hypothetical costs were given for $27 million of debt. The assumption was a 20-year bond of about $6 million in June 2015 and $21 million in June 2016, with an interest rate of 50 basis points above current similar AA credits. The estimated annual tax increase beginning in 2016-17 would be about $225, based on the average Manhasset home’s assessed value of $1,016,400.
The committee’s 15 community members include John Anderson, Andrew Baranello, Paul Baumgarten, Erika Craven, Molly DePietro, Shauna Devardo, Pat Downey, James Gavin, Mike Hastava, Blaine Klusky, Kim Kuester, Missy Leder, Evan Mandery, Nick Pappas and John Walter. The volunteers include longtime residents as well as new members of the community.
The board liaisons are Pat Aitken and Craig Anderson. Administrators—Charles Cardillo, Rosemary Johnson, Anthony Ambrogio, Charles Leone, Armand Markarian, Robert Geczik, Jean Kendall, Dean Schlanger, Sean Adcroft, Jim Amen and Theresa Curry—round out the committee. Administrative support comes from Kristina Mennuti and Pat Narofsky. Architect John Grillo also is involved.
See sidebar for the highest priority projects. For the full list, visit www.manhassetpress.com
