Upgraded science and technology laboratories, a new artificial turf athletic field and a bigger high school library are all part of a proposed $26.76 million project that will go before voters on Dec. 16.

A public hearing on the Scotia-Glenville School District’s capital project is set for tonight at 7 p.m. at Scotia-Glenville Middle School at 10 Prestige Parkway.

Superintendent Susan Swartz said many items were cut from the 1999 building proposition. “These are needs that have existed for some time,” she said.

Much of the work will take place at the high school. That library would double in size to 7,500 square feet by expanding into the adjacent courtyard. Principal Lynda Castronovo said classes are held in the library and this expansion would allow more room for quiet study.

Art and technology classrooms — largely unchanged since the school’s opening in 1958 — would be renovated. Kris Kastberg, chairman of the technology department, said among the needs are new flooring, ventilation system, fire suppression system and noise reduction.

A key component of the project is replacing the current football field with a multipurpose artificial turf field.

Athletic Director John Geniti said more games and practices could be scheduled with artifi cial turf. “We would be able to use that field multiple times a day.”

This would give the district a chance to rest some of its other seven fields, Geniti said, which cannot happen now because of demand.

An average of 140 events take place on each field, where the standard in the industry is 50 to 70 events a year, according to statistics provided by the district.

Using a turf field would allow the school to host more than 440 events annually, which is the equivalent of six grass fields.

Geniti said it would cost $11 million to bring all eight fields up to condition, compared with spending $1.2 million for an artificial turf field.

In addition, the current six-lane track circling the football field has cracks throughout and has been ruled unsafe by Section II officials for sanctioned sporting events. It would be replaced with an eightlane track to allow for a wider fi eld for regulation field hockey, soccer and lacrosse games.

The total for track, field and 500-seat bleachers is $4.5 million.

Cory Jenner, project manager for Appel Osborne — a consultant for the district — said studies done of turf fields have shown that there may be more minor injuries compared with a traditional grass fi eld, but there are far fewer severe injuries like concussions.
Jenner explained that no turf manufacturer has a 15-year warranty. So the State Education Department would give a portion of aid based on the length of warranty of the product.

MIDDLE SCHOOL
At the middle school, the project would enclose the currently open library. It would also renovate the current technology and family and consumer science classrooms, add a fourth science laboratory and renovate the three existing ones.

Also, the district plans to spend about $1 million to replace its 10-year-old computer and telephone servers and network.

The proposal includes $5 million worth of general maintenance projects including roof repairs and other smaller items.

To pay for the project, the district is also using a $935,000 Expanding our Children’s Education and Learning (EXCEL) grant from the state and $27.5 million in building aid over the next 15 years until 2026. The district receives nearly 81 cents of reimbursement for every $1 of project.

Also, the district would spend a total $7.3 million from the school district’s budget between 2011 and 2026, which works out to an average of $453,909 per year.

District officials said that the 1.9 percent that the project would add to the tax rate starting in 2010 equates to about $59 for a home with an assessment of $160,000, before any STAR tax reductions. The gross cost of the project is $37.6 million when the interest on the debt payments is included.

This figure factors in money that the district is using from an account to pay down debt. Otherwise, the tax rate would be about 2.6 percent.

If voters approve the project, construction would not likely begin for another two years. The state Education Department must sign off.

The Board of Education has been discussing this project for a year. President Margaret Smith said the board has struggled with deciding to move forward given the state of economy and she had received some negative e-mails.

“These are real needs that the district has, many of which were unable to be completed in the last building project due to us cutting because of the increased costs.”

Smith said if the district were to delay, the costs would only increase or the state aid could go away.