Deputy Superintendent Sheboy has been asked that several times
As Highland Falls and Fort Montgomery voters are asked to vote on a $44 million capital project next week, now-deputy Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Sheboy wanted to get one last piece of information out to the community.
“At a recent presentation on the school district’s proposed capital project referendum, a community member in attendance asked a question about the plans for the closed Highland Falls Elementary School (on Mountain Ave.),” Sheboy said this week. “The question, in short, was what are you doing about that building, and why don’t you just fix it if you need more space?”
Simply, he said, “we need space, but we can’t make that space into the space we need.”
With more detail:
“The facilities committee considered many factors prior to deciding to renovate the Fort Montgomery Elementary School. Among these were the condition of the HFES after 13 years of vacancy,” Sheboy said.
“The key factor was financial viability. Every building in the district has what are known as aid units. These, generally, refer to the amount of New York State Building Aid that could be generated from construction,” he continued. “A number of things are generally constant, such as high schools tend to generate more aid than middle or elementary schools. Another known fact is that a closed building has nearly no aidability.”
And that is the key, he said.
“The district could do a project at the HFES, but that would generate no aid and the cost would be paid solely by the taxpayers. In addition, to reopen the HFES as a school would likely require demographic studies that looked back at the past five to ten years as well as projected forward. Given enrollment trends throughout the region, it is possible that the state would not approve a project at the HFES, even if aid was not an issue, which it is. The most viable solution to space issues for elementary children is to renovate and add on to the Fort Montgomery Elementary School — the proposed work.”
But, that doesn’t mean no one is thinking about the HFES.
Sheboy said that Senator James Skoufis has secured a $250,000 grant which will enable the district to bring the heat and the water systems in the HFES back to operation.
“The goal is to begin this work this summer. Once the heat and water are working, the district will be able to consider uses of the building. Significant renovations will be needed and we anticipate that these will be done over time as space from the building is needed or sought.”
Sheboy thinks the HFES can “remain an asset to the community”, possibly by renting out space in it to community organizations or businesses.
For right now, he added, school officials have embarked on a plan to “dispose of a decade’s worth of accumulated obsolete materials, broken or damaged furniture and supplies which are stored there”.
For those who want more information on the HFES, there is information about it on the District’s FAQ page at www.hffmcsd.org.
