How cool would this be?

The Monroe-Woodbury School District is hoping to alleviate the discomfort of hot classrooms with a budget proposition to bring air conditioning to its schools.

The move is necessary to comply with New York State law that now forbids classrooms to be occupied if they get hotter than 88 degrees.

Patrick Cahill, the district’s assistant superintendent for Business and Management Services, said the district is asking the public to approve $16.6 million for capital work, part of which would be used to add cooling systems to schools in need.

“We’re approving a proposition for the May 20th budget vote,” Cahill said, “and the proposition is asking the public for authorization to spend additional monies on capital work.”

During the March 19 Monroe-Woodbury School Board meeting, Cahill said the district was already working on bringing new heating systems to Pine Tree, North Main and Central Valley Elementary Schools and found that adding air conditioning to the classrooms of those buildings at the same time would be a cost-effective measure.

Cahill said the district is also proposing electrical updates at Smith Clove, Sapphire and the Middle School, which would enable them to add window air-conditioning units to those classrooms.

Cahill spoke to concerns about the $16.6 million cost, saying that the district has structured that investment to have no tax impact on the public.

“We have this really opportune moment to add air conditioning with no tax impact ... so the timing was good,” said Cahill. “It would cost us a great deal more later on down the line if we waited.”

Budget update

During the meeting, the board also heard the proposed personnel and benefits budget for the coming fiscal year.

The proposed budget includes 1,128 full-time employees, an increase of about six positions from the prior year. Notably, this includes an increase of about 13 full-time instructional staff.

The presentation highlighted the cost of employee benefits on the budget. This would include a projected 2.6 percent increase in health insurance expenses, mainly due to an increase in premiums through the Orange Ulster Healthcare System.