Narrowsburg renovation project bids are accepted

Construction begins mid-January

By TOM KANE

NARROWSBURG — The reconstruction of the aging Narrowsburg school building will begin in mid- to late-January.

The Sullivan West school board awarded the bids to six construction companies at its meeting last Thursday, December 20.

“The bids came about $100,000 under budget, which surprised us,” said Superintendent of Schools Michael Johndrow.

Total cost of the renovation is in the area of $5 million.

“We’ve been waiting for this news for 16 years,” said parent Angela Daley, who was a school board member last year.

Daley recalled all the attempts in past years to do something with the aging building. Standing by itself, the former Narrowsburg school district would have found it nearly impossible to pay for the kind of construction that was required to keep the building open.

“It was long in coming to Narrowsburg,” Johndrow said. “They tried several mergers—with Eldred, with Delaware Valley. All those efforts failed, but this one succeeded. It’s a great day for them.”

Johndrow said the bids for the new high school go out at the end of January.

“While it’s hard to say that our aid is absolutely guaranteed, it has been approved and should not be affected by the state’s recent monetary crisis,” Johndrow said. “That’s what they’re telling us.”

The high school construction project received some unexpected good news when state officials told Johndrow that it will receive an additional $1 million through something called “location factor.”

“Apparently, they recognize that it’s going to be hard for a district out in a rural area to attract builders without them upping their price,” he said. “They recognize that it’s going to cost us more.”

Johndrow also announced some bad news for all school districts. The state is requiring the terms of loans and mortgages to be extended over longer periods of time.

“That means, for example, if your mortgage is for 20 years, you have to extend it to 30 years,” he said. “It saves money in the short run but costs taxpayers more money in the long run.”