Ballston Spa school proposition comes up for vote

BALLSTON SPA — Ballston Spa School District voters on Thursday will decide the fate of a $56.1 million proposition to deal with overcrowding in the middle school that has generated significant controversy, with opponents citing the nation’s poor economic conditions for their objections.

Supporters of the proposition have said the needs of the project outweigh the cost, while opponents are citing a $120 a year tax hike as reason enough to defeat the plan.

District Superintendent Joseph Dragone said Monday he and other school representatives have made more than 60 presentations in the past several weeks in an effort to explain the project’s necessity to voters.

“Anyone who has been to the middle school understands the needs we have there,” Dragone said. “This community supports education.”

Last week, the campaign was presented to the Milton Grange, one of the first organizations to oppose the plan. Grange President Sam Becker said the presentation didn’t appear to have changed members’ sentiment on the issue.

“We had 100 people there and it looked to me like 99 were against the plan when all was said and done,” he said. “People are very worried about the economy.”

He said the anticipated cost to taxpayers is too high.

“They say it will be $120 a year for the average taxpayer, but that is just for construction. What about maintenance and the annual increases we already see on our taxes?” Becker asked.

Dragone said the $120 average tax increase in the district would not take effect until 2012 and, by then, it is likely the tax base will increase substantially with the construction and start-up of an AMD computer chip manufacturing operation.

“By 2010 we will start to see the initial assessment of AMD, and by 2012 there will be a significant tax base impact,” he said.

AMD has not been factored into the financing for the proposed school project, so any contribution the chip plant would make to the tax base would decrease the cost for other property owners.

Dragone said the current state aid formula for the proposed project would be 79 percent, but that aid could decrease in coming months and years.

“Historically, the state Legislature has not reduced aid to projects that are in the pipeline,” Dragone said.

But opponents, like former Malta councilman Cliff Lange, said it’s impossible to know what state lawmakers will do in the future.

“There are no guarantees in this economy. The governor has already said he’s going to cut school aid,” Lange said. “This is the wrong time to ask taxpayers to pay more for anything. Seniors on fixed incomes and the middle class scared to death they’re going to be laid off are not interested in paying higher taxes.”

The project would see construction of a 70,000-square-foot addition to the middle school, renovation of the existing 100,000-square-foot school building and the addition of athletic fields and parking at the Ballston Avenue campus.

Dragone said classes are sometimes held in hallways because there are no available classrooms.

The middle school was built 50 years ago as a high school suited for 800 students. Today, there are approximately 1,050 students attending classes in the building.

Classroom equipment is not keeping up with technology, he said, and lab space is in high demand for science programs as well as computer classes and homework research.

The new space would allow for the three grades to be separated with 15 new classrooms, 10 science labs, five new or renovated computer labs, a new gymnasium and a new library.

Dragone said fuel-efficient heating systems and new windows and doors will also be part of the project.

Milton resident Mike Wanerka said he has researched the plan and he’s all for it.

“I have a child in 10th grade and another who has already graduated, so I have nothing to gain personally from this project,” he said Monday, “I think it’s been clearly demonstrated that the school is short on space and the expansion is needed.”

Wanerka said he sees the improvements at the school as an investment in property values as well as in the quality of education for students.

“We need an attractive school for young families moving into the area. Anyone looking to sell their homes in the next 10 years has to think about parents looking for the best place to settle. If we have a good school, it will be easier to sell a home at a higher price,” he said.