Dollars and Sense

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Blodgett school issue came down to the bottom line at the Syracuse Board of Education’s monthly business meeting tonight.

The tight budget of a city school reconstruction plan has some school board members suggesting a new building be built instead of the more expensive solution of renovation. Rev. Joe Coudriet, whose Abundant Life Christian Center donated a library to Blodgett, couldn’t disagree more. “This is a historical landmark,” he said in a speech to the board. “There’s got to be another way to skin the cat - these families deserve it.”

Superintendent Dan Lowengard’s $180 million Building the Future Together Plan was drawn up in 2006 to renovate seven city schools. Blodgett was priority number one.

The Gilbane Building Co., which heads the project’s construction, estimated early on that Blodgett’s renovation would cost $46 million. For Lowengard, that slice of the pie seems too big.

“We’re trying to protect the public’s money,” he said after the meeting. “Oftentimes, this school board spends a lot more than it needs to."

Luz Rivera, the mother of a Blodgett student, doesn't see a problem. “They’re playing Ring Around the Rosie,” she said. “They have the money.”

Lowengard and the school board planned on making a recommendation to the Joint School Construction Board tomorrow morning. But not having a final estimate from the Gilbane Company has slowed them down.

“Until we get that information we can’t make any decisions,” said Commissioner Calvin Corriders, a member of the school board. “We’re in favor of what makes the most sense.”