Summit BOE Five Year Facilities Plan Could Cost Taxpayers $206 Per Year

The Summit Board of Education Operations Committee Chairman Edgar Mokuvos and Board Administrator Louis Pepe presented to the board and public for the first time the five-year facilities plan, which would cost the district roughly $28,600,000 and the average taxpayer $206 per year.

However, this is the first time the board saw these numbers and Mokuvuo added that there are a lot of variables to be considered in this “illustrative” plan.

Over the next five years, the projects to multiple educational facilities would be funded by a bond issuance for larger items and the Fund 12 capital outlay and Capital reserve the board already has access too

The overall amount that would need to be bonded would be $22,600,000. Mokuvos presented that based on a 20-year bond at 3.31 percent this would mean an increase of $206.89 per year for the average Summit taxpayer. He added if state aid was brought back the number could go down to $124.14.

An additional 6 million would come out of the district’s “Fund 12” for smaller projects and this amount would not impact taxes because the money has already been budgeted for, Mokuvos stated.

Several of the projects include creating safety vestibules when entering the school buildings. This is something the state is beginning to tell schools districts to start looking into and Summit is already ahead of the game, Mokuvos said.

The projects the Operations Committee has prioritized include:

• 925,000 – Summit High School Boiler Replacements 
• 2,300,000 LCJ Summit Middle School Auditorium Upgrades 
• 3,325,000 – LCJ Summit Middle School Science Lab Remodeling
• 1,150,000 - LCJ Summit Middle School Brick Repointing
• 4,600,000 – Franklin Addition
• 5,250,000 – Jefferson Security/Site Work
• 2,450,000 – Jefferson Full Day Kindergarten Expansion
• 2,600,000 – Wilson Full Day Kindergarten Expansion 

A member of the public asked what would happen if the Board of School estimates knocked down the proposal for Full Day Kindergarten. Mokuvos said that the little over $5 million would be removed from the facilities plan and not applied to anything else.

There were other small projects that were considered by the operations committee, but they chose only the ones they felt would be necessary to complete over the next five years, according to Mokuvos.

Board Member Rich Hanley asked the operations committee if the rest of the board would have the opportunity to vote on this proposal.

“This is our proposal and the board has to look at it and tell us if they think it’s a reasonable proposal,” Mokuvos replied.

Hanley said he thought the proposal was great and thanked Mokuvos and Pepe.

On March 21, this proposed five-year facilities plan would be discussed at the regular Board of Education meeting. Also, on April 18 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. there will be a “Town Hall Forum Discussion,” on the plan.

The Board of School Estimates will review the plan on May 9.

Check back with summit.patch.com next week for more information on School Safety and Security and the district's three year technology goals.