Published: December 11, 2008 02:17 am      

CITY OF LOCKPORT: Opinions vary on LHS project

Residents of the Lockport City School District have varying opinions about the proposed $29.5 million capital improvement project for the high school.

The district held a second informational meeting and public hearing on the project Wednesday. Residents will vote on the project from noon until 9 p.m. Tuesday at their regular polling places for school board and budget elections.

Absentee ballots, available at the district offices for those who will be out of town, must be received by Tuesday.

Attendance for the first informational meeting in November was poor. In response, the district sent out a community mailing, sent a notice home with students, posted a notice about the meeting on its Web site, put information on billboards at the schools.

Some of those who came to Wednesday’s meeting gave their opinion on the project. Most who oppose the project are concerned about the state building aid and the current budget crisis the state is facing. State building aid makes up about 90 percent of the project’s funding.

“You cannot ensure us it’ll be there. You can’t guarantee the 90 percent,” George Kugler said.

Others were in favor of the project, saying it would be a benefit to the community. Betty Newton has three children who have gone through the Lockport school system, as well as herself. She said the project would give Lockport kids equal footing with other districts.

“Why shouldn’t my grandchildren have the same advantages as someone at the other schools?” Newton asked. “Financially, if we have a complex like this, it’ll bring in money for sectionals and things like band competitions.”

The project involves two propositions.

• Proposition 1 includes improvements to the high school, such as a state-of-the-art performing arts center, art gallery and a fitness center for gym classes. Smaller items such as new windows and new bleachers and padding in the gymnasium are also part of the proposition. An elevator would also be added, and bathrooms would be made handicap-accessible. The technology wing would also be updated, the library would be renovated to make room for a computer lab and bathrooms would be added nearby. Other improvements include relocating the Locust Street bus loop, a parent drop-off site on Lincoln Avenue, and improvements to ventilators and mechanical systems.

The proposition also includes a six-classroom addition, which covers the classrooms lost by adding the fitness center, and a new entrance to alleviate some of the congestion in the hallway. This proposition makes up about $23.5 million of the total project.

• Proposition 2 is a varsity sports complex, which includes a parking expansion, resurfacing of tennis courts and a varsity softball field. The stadium includes bleachers that seat 2,500, locker room, concession stand and an artificial turf field, which can be used by a number of school sports teams. It makes up about $6 million of the project.

Don Swanson said the first proposition of the project, the renovations and additions at the high school, is needed. However, Swanson said he had some questions about the second proposition, the sports complex.

“I think it should be looked into better,” Swanson said.

The project carries no extra burden on the taxpayer, the district said.

The district has said the project will be paid for in large part by the state. In addition to the 90 percent paid for by state building aid, about 10 percent comes from a reserve fund the district started in 2002 just for capital projects. The $3 million reserve account is not one of the six reserves included in the state comptroller’s critical audit released last week. That audit determined the district overestimated expenses and underestimated revenues by $9.4 million over the past five years, resulting in surpluses the state said could have been used to reduce property taxes.

About $500,000 of the capital project’s cost comes from state EXCEL funding, which, like building aid, can only be used for capital project work. EXCEL aid cannot be cut by the state. The district has said that any cut by the state in building aid is unlikely, because a cut would not provide the state enough savings. That’s because aid is paid out over 15 years, and any cut would only be for the first couple of years. The amount of a project the state pays for locks in with a vote from the public.

Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241.