012413_10-14_Capital%20Plan

FINANCING THE PLAN: Funding for the proposed Plan is structured in the same manner as the
FY2005 – 2009 Capital Plan. Half of the required funding is provided by the City and the other
half is being provided by New York State. Additional resources will be provided through
partnerships, federal grants, elected officials and private contributions
BUILDING ON PROGRESS: The FY2005 – 2009 Capital Plan employed a wide range of
approaches to maximize our ability to expand the capacity of our school system, provide
instructional enhancements necessary to support the Children First Initiatives, and accomplish
urgently needed upgrades to our aging infrastructure. Some of these approaches have included the
revitalization of the Education Construction Fund (ECF), the expansion of leasing agreements, and
the development of public/private partnerships for new schools and upgrades to existing school
facilities. Revitalization of ECF and expansion of leasing agreements has allowed the Department
and the SCA to build seats in districts and neighborhoods where finding new construction sites has
proven to be difficult.
As outlined in the FY2005-2009 plan, approximately 55,000 new capacity seats were completed or
are in process, 25 large and underperforming high schools were transformed into campuses
housing over 100 high performing schools, and over 4,000 capital projects were undertaken to
provide needed upgrades in our existing buildings. The Department has expanded the technology
infrastructure in schools as part of the upgrades and also partnered with outside organizations to
increase the number of small schools available to our students.
BUILDING FOR SUSTAINABILITY: The SCA’s pilot project for the design and construction
of a Net Zero Energy School Building in Staten Island is well under way. P.S. 62 is scheduled to
open in September 2015. Recognizing New York City’s commitment to sustainability and energy
conservation, we are going beyond building code and City design standards to realize innovative
energy and carbon reduction that exceeds our current achievement levels. We are pushing the
envelope on a unique advanced energy and green design project which will act as our
“sustainability lab”. Not all of the lessons learned from the exercise will be applicable on a broad
scale, however, the exploration into ultimate sustainability and the subsequent evaluation will
provide benefits to the entire school design program that would otherwise not be realized.
PUBLIC REVIEW: As a result of Mayoral control of the Department of Education, the capital
plan process was revised to include annual amendments that require public review and City
Council approval. The process for public input implemented under the FY2005 - 2009 Plan
increased transparency and resulted in expanded review and dialogue through the Plan’s five year
duration. The process accommodates public comment and recommendations on the content of the
plan and provides for annual updates to reflect this input. In addition, actual costs and completion
dates for finished projects, changes to schedules and estimates for on-going projects, and potential
modifications to capacity needs as a result of constantly evolving demographics are reflected in the
annual updates. Under this process, a draft plan amendment with proposed changes is released in
November. The public review period extends from November to the end of January, during which
time the DOE/SCA meets with Community Education Councils (CEC), Community Boards,
Council Borough Delegations and other elected officials. An update incorporating the results of
the meetings is released in February. The Panel for Education Policy reviews the Plan
Amendment and if approved, it is forwarded to the Mayor and the City Council for review and
approval as part of the City’s annual budget adoption process.
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