With 70 capital projects in 20 school districts awaiting the starter”™s pistol, Westchester County is now in a “hurry up and wait” mode as the state figures what to fund.
Scores of shovel-ready projects pertaining to schools are being considered by education officials throughout the region, but uncertainty is the watchword regarding what financial assistance they might garner from the federal stimulus package.
State officials in charge of dispensing the funds have no answers because, they say, $14 billion in funding originally provided for funding shovel-ready projects improving schools from kindergarten through high school was removed from the final stimulus bill passed by Congress. Instead, money will be awarded based on competitive grants and by providing a measure of discretion for state officials.
“The final stimulus bill removed the separate appropriation for K-12 construction,” said Erin Duggan, a spokeswoman for Gov. David Paterson. “Instead, it just provided some flexibility to use other education pots for capital projects. So this has to come out of the education funding, which we are still working through.”
She said the state budget, which by law must be finalized by April 1, will provide the details on how much money will be available to capital education projects in New York, and how and where the money will be sent.
Duggan also held out hope that New York could win additional federal money based on need. “The big question is, will it be a competitive process?” said Duggan about additional federal stimulus money awaiting disbursement. “Not all the funding is guaranteed; we”™re going to have to compete. But New York has so many shovel-ready projects, I think we will have a good chance to receive significant funding.”
But the need is so acute the competition is sure to be fierce. A recent General Services Administration report put the bill for rehabbing the nation”™s K-12 schools at $112 billion. About one-third of the buildings, many in impoverished urban districts, are more than 40 years old and two-thirds require asbestos or lead abatement.
State officials may have to leave most needs unmet, given the size of the problems. School districts have lists of projects they seek to complete. A list of projects from a Web search found Westchester County listing some 70 capital education projects in the K-12 range divided among 20 separate school districts.
Dutchess County has 11 projects listed on the compilation with two school districts, but the information is likely not comprehensive as it includes no entries from Poughkeepsie. Ulster County is listed as having 18 shovel-ready projects in just three school districts, but again the actual need could be greater, as the county has seven school districts. Rockland County is listed as having 12 projects among 4 school districts. Orange County has 16 projects listed among eight school districts. Putnam County has 17 projects listed as spread among six districts. Sullivan County has six projects among three districts.
The projects range in size. In Sullivan County alone, they are listed as ranging from a $13,000 to $21.4 million. Similar ranges exist in all school districts in all the other counties.
