Hastings Happenings

February 7, 2025

Dear Hastings Families and Staff:

I am writing to you from the heart, which is beating that much stronger after pushing away ice and sleet-laden snow this morning. Yes, I am writing midway through Thursday’s inclement weather day.

Going on 3.5 years, I have nearly weekly used keystrokes to convey what I see and believe to be the best about this remarkable school district and community. Today, my keystrokes are more pointed, calling out what is required for the best that I have witnessed to thrive. I am writing about the emerging Capital Bond, woven with a theme of productive democracy.

Looking Back to Move Forward

For over 12 months, the administration and the Board of Education have been publicly deliberating about a potential Capital Bond. The emerging Bond has three major parts: renovations to the Farragut Complex; improvements to the Athletic Fields; and, fundamental building improvements called for by the Building Condition Survey (BCS). Discussion and debate has focused primarily on the first two parts, with little dissent that the fundamental building improvements are essential in our aging facility.

We are required to do this work in public, which means that parts and pieces (iterations if you will) of the eventual final Capital Bond remain visibly absent though they will be in the completed plan. Across these months, we have heard extensive feedback and commentary from a range of Hastings students, staff, parents and community members. This has occurred relative to particular pieces, and to a potential total cost, even though the “final, final” is not resolved. As will be documented below in several big ways, we have been listening to the feedback and making modifications to parts and pieces of the potential Capital Bond, as well as the overall projected cost. That is point one in the democracy theme: an elected school board, overseeing public employees, with external partners secured through competitive bidding processes, are working diligently in full public view to balance the priority needs of students and the financial concerns of Hastings taxpayers. The work is in public, entails grappling with differing views and opinions, and will lead ultimately to a referendum, a vote, for all Hastings residents.

Seeking Greater Efficiencies

Next week, the Board of Education will further discuss the proposed Bond and take the next steps towards finalizing the scope of the project and a Referendum Vote in the spring. BOE members are scrutinizing the scope and cost of the proposed Bond. Arriving shortly will be findings from the required environmental review of the potential scope of work for the Farragut Complex and Athletic Field elements. Additional analysis also is due from a review of possible topographical and geological impediments (i. e., buried rock) to Athletic Field improvements.

Prior to this information arriving, the BOE has asked the administration, working with LAN Associates and PBDW (our engineer, architect and design firms), to find more efficiencies in the emerging Bond. This has been the modus-operandi for the administration through all Bond planning, so we are pleased to double-down on efficiency inquiries.

First, however, I must state the overarching guardrails I have been bringing to any efficiency inquiry. Simply put, the time has come for Hastings to invest in the quality of its educational facilities. Any significant reductions to the three major parts of the emerging Bond will put at serious risk the first obligation of Hastings educational professionals to do everything possible to ensure that we provide facilities and grounds conducive to high quality teaching and learning. Without major investment in the Farragut Complex and fields, we are at risk of becoming a district with sub-par educational settings. I make this pointed statement from a decades-based perspective, reaching across a unique range of educational institutions; more importantly, I am hearing from more and more students, teachers, administrators and parents after the FMS flood, “if this does not convince Hastings to invest in our facilities, what will?”

Beyond the vital perspective of students and employees, there is a technical and financial guardrail to the search for added efficiencies. It is important to reiterate that the recommendations provided by PBDW in their Master Plan and the needs identified in the BCS at the Farragut Complex far exceed the scope of work provided for by the current projected Bond amount of ~$48 million. That is, we have already reduced the priority needs and scope of work quite substantially from what is required.

• LAN identified ~$81 million in needs while assessing the existing conditions of the school district’s facilities in preparation of the Building Condition Survey and Five-Year Plan. This work is itemized in the 2024 Five-Year Plan, and does not include escalation and soft costs. With escalation and softs costs included, the total cost of the work would exceed $100M. During the preparation of the Five-Year Plan, the school district decided to defer ~$38 million of needs (which excludes soft costs and escalation) because there is no financial means to address all their needs.

• As part of their Master Plan Study (see also: Farragut Master Plan Appendix), PBDW has recommended several building additions and renovation projects at the Farragut Complex. The total cost of implementing the Master Plan would likely exceed $40 million (including work selected for the current referendum, soft costs and escalation).

• The Space Audit of the Farragut Complex determined, among other major findings:

• Majority of classrooms (FMS and HHS) are significantly below state required square footage based on student ratios.

• FMS is allocated 30% of available space for 50% of students (in full Farragut Complex). Rescheduling classroom usage across FMS and HHS will not solve the problem–we may be able to shift 2-3 classrooms at most without creating classroom space issues for HHS.

• Space does not provide adequate educational support for students with special needs, which includes lack of space for assessments and small group work. Indeed, we have students in HHS taking tests in hallways, due to lack of space. For FMS the lack of space results in a master schedule that is locked up by the need for space to ensure legal mandates are met for testing accommodations and delivery of instruction in alternate settings.

• Bathroom facilities–equatable and well dispersed–are lacking.

• Cafeteria is smaller than required for a facility serving over 1,100 students. It also is in need of renovations in the food preparation, serving and eating areas.

• Cafeteria occupies a prime space for classrooms – correct floor, within flow of current classrooms, with windows.

• Farragut Complex is not accessible for individuals with physical handicaps. This is a violation of state and federal codes.

If the BOE determines that it must reduce the scope of work and Bond by any significant amount, the community should be reminded that the needs identified in the BCS will not disappear, the instruction inadequacies will become more challenging to address, and the cost to address the BCS items in the future will increase. For instance, deferring capital needs for five years will increase the cost of work ~25% including soft costs and contingency.

An even more serious cost-based risk is to our New York State reimbursement rate for capital projects. We currently enjoy a ~47% reimbursement rate on qualifying work. However, due to its own budgetary pressures, New York State is considering how to alter levels of capital support for school districts. We expect that Hastings will not receive the current reimbursement rate for much longer and that any new rate will be significantly lower, reflecting where many of our sister districts are already.

Five Areas for Greater Efficiency

Operating within these efficiency guardrails, we have identified five sets of efficiencies for further consideration:

• Value engineer the latest Bond proposals to determine where savings may be derived from tighter projections and appropriate reduction of scope and modifications of design.

• Clarifying that several of the Farragut Complex proposals, such as the plan for securing necessary instructional space by moving the cafeteria, is the most cost effective approach of any other options we closely examined. In addition, clarifying that certain proposed construction designs, such as the glass walls and skylights for the new cafeteria, are not more expensive than traditional materials and provide energy cost efficiencies for lighting. Lastly, clarifying that the plans for the new front entrance is required to fix the accessibility problem for the Farragut Complex.

• Calculate as specifically as possible the required BCS improvements for the Farragut Wing being addressed through renovations after the FMS flood. The opportunity from this crisis is that all three floors will have refurbished flooring, walls, ceilings, lighting and necessary modification of classroom and office locations on the basement and first floor (to provide better instructional spaces). At this point, we estimate the savings to be approximately $2 million.

• Give more specific plans for the “increased instructional space” enabled by the relocation of the cafeteria.
• Advancing teaching and learning at FMS is a priority within the emerging Capital Bond. We are tying back to the Middle School Action Plan, enthusiastically received by the BOE in January 2024. The FMS master schedule is directly tied to available physical space. Special education classes, especially ICT and hybrid classes, have to be scheduled first to ensure all mandates related to delivery of services, assessments, and accommodations are met. For example, ELA and mathematics need a second room every other day in order to legally run the hybrid program, which requires double the amount of spaces.
• For FMS, we will be providing detail on the necessary programmatic boost that will be enabled by additional instructional space. Potential headlines include: Coding; Financial Literacy; STEAM program incorporating robotics (culminating in an authentic learning capstone project), engineering and design and computer science; a Chorus Room; space for a WIN Block (“What I Need”); and student designed passion projects.
• We will provide details about the number of special education spaces–including OT, PT, Speech, Psych and Sensory resource rooms–that are not meeting state requirements. We also will clarify the number of ICT classes–with required added staff, plus push-in services for ENL–that are short 200 feet in required space.

• Analyzing the programmatic and financial balance of having two artificial turf fields, but without lights. We also are looking at reducing the scope of driveway and parking proposals with the athletic fields. We already removed proposals for expanded bleachers and a press box.

Economical Aspirations

In closing, let me quote BOE President Alex Dal Piaz, who often stresses, “In speaking to the community, I have found that what’s most important to parents are the aspirations they have for their children. As good as we have been, we are limited in the extent of aspirational educational opportunities we can provide without adequate space within Farragut and on the fields.”

At the same time, Alex is quick to urge me, as the district's leading educational professional, to concentrate on what might be considered “economical aspirations.” That is, those that give students the opportunities they deserve to stretch themselves and flourish, but with a keen eye on the understandable financial concerns of Hastings taxpayers.

Writing today, after pushing away all that snow and ice, I take to heart this sage advice from one of the Village’s leading elected officials, one who stands for fair and open democratic processes, noted for thoughtful, caring, respectful debate and discussion, which ultimately results in progress for students and families. I know each BOE member joins Alex in this fundamental dedication to productive democracy.

Thank you for your support of everything we strive to do for our students–your children.

Sincerely,

Bill

William S. McKersie, Ph.D.

Superintendent of Schools

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