ELLENVILLE – Residents approved the ECSD capital project by a landslide this past Tuesday. The final tally was 399 for the spending plan for district facilities improvements and 66 against.

"It was an 86 percent approval rate, which is really unprecedented," said superintendent Lisa Wiles. "We're all very grateful to the community for passing this."

For the past budget vote, Wiles explained, there was a turnout of approximately 800 versus the 456 who voted on the bond issue this week.

The vote was swayed by a few factors, the superintendent surmised. Most important was the fact that there would be no tax increase and the 'nuts and bolts' of the project included important infrastructure needs to keep up with the "use of life" for district buildings.

Also important was the knowledge that the planned work includes health, safety, energy efficiency and infrastructure components, and will be partly paid for by one-time grants.

"The state is giving us 66 percent of eligible building expenses," Wiles said. "In addition, we have money that the state had — Excel building aid — that is about $1.3 million. So between those two items, we'll have about a 76 percent building aid ratio."

The remaining 24 percent will be made up through the approved bonds, which will replace those being retired now through 2017.

"The upside is that there's no additional taxes that are anticipated for this project because the local share will be the local share that's already in the budget," the superintendent explained, reiterating the knowledge she and the Ellenville school board disseminated effectively before the vote.

Work is slated to begin the summer of the 2016-2017 school year but some projects, like the roofs, may begin even earlier, and possibly this winter, to cash in on lower fuel prices. Additionally, Wiles explained, the building project approval for roofs comes from the state education department quickly, and may save the district money if completed sooner.