Longwood seeks $28M for school upgrades

Residents of the Longwood School District will vote this winter on a $28 million bond proposal that would fund building maintenance and energy conservation in local schools.

While the district must borrow the entire $28 million, the cost to taxpayers will be reduced by state aid, which is expected to refund two-thirds of the project, said school board president Michael A. Loguercio.

Savings in energy costs and $4 million in reserve funds are also expected to help ease the burden, he said.

The 9,300-student school district, which has seven school buildings and several administrative facilities, would benefit from the upgrades to facilities and technology, Loguercio said.

"Our community has invested a tremendous amount of resources in maintaining facilities and getting them to where they are," Loguercio said. "When you've got this many facilities, you have to maintain them."

The exact date of the referendum has not been determined, but it will likely take place in January or February, he said.

About half of the $28 million would be used for energy conservation projects, school officials said. Those include battery storage, window replacement, lighting upgrades, a districtwide wireless clock system, chillers for summer cooling, and creating a computerized energy management system, officials said.

The district is also asking the state to approve a wind turbine and solar panels for Longwood High School, school officials said.

The bond would touch every building in the school district, Loguercio said.

The money would help pay to replace older, deteriorating roofs, some of which are 20 to 30 years old, Loguercio said. The heating and ventilation system would be replaced at the Charles E. Walters Elementary School, and deteriorating parking lots in the district would be repaved, school officials said.

Other projects that would be made possible by the bond money include the realignment of the high school track, the installation of a synthetic athletic field, the replacement of instructional computers that are older than six years, and improvements to technology in classrooms and school libraries, officials said.