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Lansing School Business Administrator Mary June King urged Board Of Education members Monday to support an upcoming $8 million capital project.  The project will repair roofs and infrastructure on the aging campus.  King said that Lansing's share is 9.552% of the total cost, or $765,000.  But with $415,000 of that coming back to the district in state aid, she said that the actual cost to property taxpayers would only be a one time payment of 72 cents on a $200,000 home.

"I think it's a very reasonable amount of money, and this is for things like leaking roofs and steel beams that are deteriorating -- health and safety issues," King said.

King said Lansing should support the project, because TST BOCES is not asking for new facilities, but is aiming to repair existing facilities that, without this work, could pose safety problems.

"I really want to stress that this is just infrastructure-related activities," she said.  "They have great need for program space.  They have great need for improved program space up there, and they just didn't dare go out for that.  That's unfortunate because they have some great programs there and it's just too tight for them to expand and modernize their program."

TST BOCES provides shared classes and services that increase the offerings that smaller rural school districts would not be able to afford to offer individually.  Students are bused to the Warren Road campus and auxiliary locations each day for career and technical education, special education, and a variety of different courses and programs.  The school also provides administrative services to member districts.  TST BOCES serves the Candor, Dryden, George Junior Republic, Groton, Ithaca, Lansing, Newfield, South Seneca, and Trumansburg school districts.  All participating school boards have to approve the project in order for it to move forward. 

King noted that district residents don't vote on BOCES capital projects.  But she added that BOCES will likely draft a municipal agreement that assures that each school board agrees to pay for the project.

Unlike local district project funding, the Lansing district will receive all the aid in the same year as the project, which means the district will not have to front the money from one budget season and then wait for aid to trickle back from Albany.  The district will have to decide on the best way to pay the remaining $350,000.  King outlined three approaches to the school board, including bonding, paying cash, and making a payment as a 'keep the refund' option.

She called the cash option 'crazy' and explained that bonding would end up costing the district much more, money, furthermore, that could not be raised by taxes because of state regulations.

"If we were to bond this and pay it back over 18 years with an interest rate of 4% or something the cost was going to be about $4 on a $100,000 home," King said.  "I think that we can afford to not do it that way, and not pick up that extra interest, especially considering the fact that you would be adding a long term budget line to your budget that you can't tax on."

Each year participating school districts pay BOCES based on estimated usage, which means that BOCES returns a refund for services not used at the end of each school year.  Typically Lansing receives between $400,000 and $500,000.  King suggested that the district pay its share by simply asking BOCES to keep a large portion of Lansing's refund over a span of two years.

"As an example, in '17-'18 I could say why don't you keep $350,000 of our refund this year," told school board members.  "Then in the subsequent year we could tell BOCES to keep the rest of the $764,000.  That would finish our share of the project, and that year I would collect that $415,000 back in BOCES aid.  So the revenue impact would be felt most in '17-'18.

King said the district will receive all the aid in the same year as the project, which means the district will not have to front the money from one budget season and then wait for aid to trickle back from Albany.  The district will have to decide on the best way to pay the remaining $350,000.  King outlined three approaches to the school board, including bonding, paying cash, and making a payment as a 'keep the refund' option.

On January 23rd King plans a presentation on the so-called 'rollover budget', a version of next year's budget that does not add or subtract from the things this year's budget pays for.  She said she would include the BOCES project figures so school board members can see how it would fit with the district's budget needs.

"72 cents and it's paid for," King said.

If approved, construction is expected to take place in the summer of 2018.

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