In November, voters narrowly rejected a $196 million plan for a major makeover and addition to Albany High School. A trip back to the drawing board resulted in a reformulated plan to rebuild the existing facility over a staggered number of years at a slightly reduced cost.
Here is a preview of tomorrow’s re-vote.
Despite the closeness of the November vote and the low turnout overall, Albany School Board Vice President Sue Adler said at the time she believed the school will be rebuilt. "We still have a dire need for a new high school, and that's one of the reasons that we haven't spent large amounts of money while still maintaining it."
The condition of the building's roof has been cited time after time as the most compelling reason to hold the controversial February 9 vote. "The story started 40 some odd years ago when the original Albany High School that we're talking about was built. Poorly designed. Poorly built. And it's been a problem ever since."
County Comptroller Mike Conners suggests the board has not spent money wisely. "The building advisor said that you couldn't put a new roof on the building during the summer if you didn't have the vote in February. That's a wonderful false flag to raise, but the roof should have been repaired years ago. The school district had no problem putting a brand new football field in for $2.2 million, but they don't repair the roof. You have to wonder. The same board that didn't take care of preventive maintenance or routine maintenance or repairs that the building needed now and to spend $180 million so we're able to repair the roof this summer? Doesn't make sense."
Conners suggests an April 19th vote, the day of the day of the New York presidential primary, would make more sense. He's running ads on commercial radio urging citizens to "vote NO," which he hopes will spark turnout despite odds and obstacles involved in the voting process, including locations of polling places sometimes different than usual spots in any given area.
In January, the district launched a campaign to drum up supporters for second vote at a sparsely attended community forum at the high school, along with tours of the crumbling building. A second forum attracted a huge crowd at Martel's restaurant uptown, where the community clashed with school board representatives. Speakers lined up during a public comment period, demanding a better graduation rate and more accountability from officials, and complaining that taxes are already too high.
Mayor Kathy Sheehan says the high school issue needs immediate attention. She backs the rebuilding plan, which will use the maximum amount of available state matching funding: 65 percent of the bill will be picked up by the state. "And my concern is if we don't do this, then we move into emergency maintenance mode, which, I believe, will end up costing us more and not allow us to be as strategic about utilizing the state funding sources that we're using. So, while I think I understand that it's challenging for people to put their arms around this and look at the tax impact of it, it's really been minimized. And if we wanna see our property values grow, if we wanna see our city grow, we need to have excellent schools and we need to have a building that is gonna provide a great education to our high schoolers and our future workforce."
Those who favor rebuilding Albany High say the tax rate would only rise by a slim amount. Conners disagrees. "That's an absolutely spin master's delight to say that it's only $19. When you add the $146 of the existing pre-existing bonds, which will be retired this year, and add the additional $19, the true additional costs for this project is $165 per year. That's not what the school board is having people believe, nor are any of the stories that are being written about it, talking about the expiring debt service."
Conners would like to see a brand-new school built. He says it could be done in two years instead of nine; would not impact the students and would serve everyone better in the long run.
Sheehan says that's easier said than done: "I think that he's got an approach that assumes that we have property somewhere that is available to build a school. That would require the district to go out, to acquire property, and to actually be able to build an entirely new structure for less than what this proposal envisions. Again, this proposal is maximizing that state match of 65 percent, and that's because of the time that it's gonna take in this phased construction. Also, if you look at the cost of this school per student, the square footage per student, this is one of the lowest high school construction projects, based on recent high schools that have been built in the region."
In January, Albany School Board President Kenny Bruce told reporters he believed his panel and newly-appointed acting Albany schools superintendent Kimberly Young Wilkins will have a positive impact on the vote. " We are actually trying to set a new direction for the school district. A direction based on higher standards and based on measurable results. Not just at the end of a vision, but interim steps along the way, so we can say we're headed in the right direction."
The final decision rests with voters.
- The vote on the City School District of Albany's scaled-back renovation and construction project for Albany High School will be held Tuesday, Feb. 9. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Voting locations will be the same as those for the school budget vote in May. These locations may be different than voting locations for the general election in November. Additionally, some residents may now be assigned to different school voting locations than last May following Albany County's redistricting, which went into effect last fall.
Check your polling place using the directory by city ward or searchable street directory. To use the searchable street directory, press "Control F," type your street name in the box that pops up and press "Next." For more information, please contact the clerk of the board at 475-6010.
