Date: Fri 26-Apr-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

schools-additions-impact

Full Text:

Report Calculates New Costs Associated With School Additions

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

The proposed 76,000-square-foot addition to Newtown High School is expected to

cost the town in the neighborhood of $28 million, but the expenses don't end

there.

It's the same story at Hawley School where a $4 million expansion is planned.

Once the extra space is added, the costs to maintain the building go up

substantially.

John T. Torok, Jr., the director of schools business services, recently

completed financial impact statements for both schools. Recurring costs for

the NHS addition, those that will need to be paid annually, are estimated at

more than $220,000, while Hawley's addition could total nearly $53,000 a year.

"A lot of the numbers are based on what we do now. We figure out our current

expenditures and just extrapolate them," Mr Torok explained. "But until the

buildings are actually finished, you never know for sure."

For major projects like these, the town charter requires that the financial

director and town council be given formal financial impact statements. They

received impact statements several months ago, but, according to Mr Torok, the

scope of the projects have increased with the rapid increase in enrollment at

the schools.

The financial impact report does not discuss the number of additional teachers

that will need to be added to the NHS staff because those figures are based on

enrollment. However, according to Mr Torok, between now and the year 2006, the

high school is expected to balloon from 1,164 students to 1,535. That means

the staff will be adding nearly 30 more teachers over that time span. Of

course, the need for increased staffing is unrelated to the expanded

facilities.

While the increased staffing will put a higher burden on taxpayers, Mr Torok

points out that those new teachers will be less expensive. In fact, every time

a senior level teacher retires or takes early retirement, the town saves some

$17,000. As many residents may have noticed, Newtown is currently top heavy

with senior level teachers.

Newtown High School

According to the report, recurring expenses at the high school include three

extra full-time custodians to handle the increased load. At $26,395 for each

position, the overall cost is estimated to be $79,185. To address the added

number of students expected in the years to come, school officials have also

added a full-time clerical position at $19,551.

The NHS addition will also cost an extra $40,000 annually in oil, $50,000 for

electricity and $3,000 for additional telecommunications for a total recurring

utilities bill of $93,000.

School officials expect they'll also have to spend another $8,500 each year

for custodial and maintenance supplies. Additional maintenance service

contracts, including refuse collection, security systems, clock service,

intercoms, fire alarm systems, fire extinguishers and other emergency items,

could go up as much as $10,000.

As the report states, if the high school facility is not enlarged, a form of

overlapping student schedule would be put into place, creating additional

charges. The overlapping would require an additional $1,400 per day for

another round trip for school buses and additional cash for more energy used.

Hawley School

The recurring costs at Hawley were reduced by $3,000 because of an estimated

annual savings from new energy efficient windows that would be installed.

Additional expenses due to the addition include a part time clerk at $9,776, a

part-time custodian with benefits at $17,000, a $3,000 increase in service

contracts, an additional $4,500 in maintenance and custodial supplies, $9,500

in fuel oil and $12,000 for electricity.

With the addition of some staffing, the recurring costs at Hawley will

increase to more than $90,000, according to Mr Torok.