Port Washington Board of Education trustees on Tuesday discussed the possibility of proposing a capital bond to improve the school district’s infrastructure and facilities.
Trustees said projects could include new science labs at Weber Middle School and Schreiber High School, bleachers at Schreiber, a swimming pool and a complete overhaul of the district’s digital and telephone infrastructure.
“I think this thought percolated up because we’re all living within the tax levy limit,” said Mary Callahan, the district’s superintendent for business. “It is becoming more and more difficult to maintain programs and to maintain facilities.”
The district has approximately $10 million worth of ongoing repairs, trustees said, with $750,000 being transferred to its capital fund.
Trustees said the district would have to annually transfer $750,000 to the capital fund for the next 14 years – without beginning any new projects – to maintain the current repairs.
“The greatest thing about this bond would be that we could do all of these things and help move the district forward and the budget could then be allowed to not only stay where we are academically with our staffing and curriculum needs, which can’t go in a bond, but also allow us to move forward,” Board of Education President Karen Sloan said.
Trustees said they have not investigated the potential cost of the bond, but said they would try to limit the impact on district taxpayers.
But trustees said a bond would aid a district whose enrollment has increased in the last year and that has struggled to increase revenues.
The Port Washington School District currently serves 5,367 students, approximately 78 more than it did during the 2012-13 school year.
