A $600-800 million multi-year Facilities Modernization Project designed to complement and advance the academic strides being made by District students and staff has been proposed to the Board of Education. The initiative is being advanced in anticipation of up to 96 percent state reimbursement over 20 years.

Public information sessions regarding the proposal were conducted January 23 and 26. Additional sessions will be scheduled and advertised.

“This proposal represents the definition of community,” said Community and Intergovernmental Relations Chairman Malik Evans, whose Board committee is steering the proposal through the approval process. Mr. Evans elaborated on his comment by explaining that the proposal culminates more than a year of work on the part of the Facilities Modernization Board and the School Community Advisory Committee. Both are ad-hoc groups charged with helping chart a course for the District’s future. The groups include community members, local legislators, business leaders, District staff members, City staff members, Board of Education Commissioners and City Council members. The New York State Department of Education has provided guidance regarding the project.

“Our community as a whole would benefit from the modernization project. Our students would attend schools that are on a par with their suburban counterparts, neighborhoods would be revitalized, and ensuing economic development could provide a long-term boost for the city’s financial future,” Mr. Evans said.

The project is being advanced with New York State funding that could total up to 96 percent of the project’s eligible elements. The state funding formula is complex; in order to be fiscally conservative, the District is projecting that New York State will fund approximately 80 percent of the project. “I don’t know that we’ll have another opportunity to focus this many resources on our structures at such a small cost at the local level,” said Commissioner Willa Powell. A shift in the State Legislature and/or the Governor’s office could jeopardize building aid in the future, she noted. “The opportunity is here to lock in a high reimbursement rate for the life of the project,” said Ms. Powell, who heads the Board’s Finance Committee.

The project is extensive and will include every school building owned by the District. Some buildings need more work than others; determining building needs was a critical task of the Facilities Modernization Board. More than half of the district’s buildings were constructed between 1890 and 1935. Additional input at the building level -- from parents, staff and community members -- is still being sought and will be throughout the project. “We want this project to represent grassroots participation so that everyone has a voice and everyone makes a commitment to see it through,” Mr. Evans said.

Board President Domingo Garcia said discussion will be required regarding how to increase minority participation in the project’s construction, complemented by commitments to hire and recruit apprentices who live in the City. Added Commissioner Cynthia Elliott, “I expect to see that those who are working on the project -- in finance, design, and execution -- represent the diversity of the community, including people of color and women.”

Board Quality Assurance Chair Shirley Thompson said the proposal, in each iteration, should reflect the academic needs of students. “It is imperative that our students’ continued academic growth remains paramount,” Ms. Thompson said.

All members of the Board of Education are committed to ensuring, through their ongoing oversight of the project and active decision making, that the Board’s concerns regarding finances, minority contractors and student opportunities are addressed effectively.