The State's financial troubles are well documented and among them was this news shared this week...
New York state will stop funding new or ongoing construction projects as of April 1 and will hold back $2.1 billion in school aid for two months.
The freeze on spending is necessitated because temporary state spending bills, which take effect Thursday, do not include any appropriations to pay for construction work.
The action potentially places hundreds of projects in jeopardy around the state, and it may lead contractors to halt projects and temporarily lay off workers. The state Department of Transportation has begun notifying contractors of the impact of the temporary spending bills.
That got me wondering about the status of the construction taking place at the elementary school in Gasport since that involved state funds. So, I inquired about that with a school board member who replied with the following:
"Our project is bonded already and we pay the contractors directly. We covered the district upfront cost with capitol funds we already had and the BOCES lease pays off the bond payments. This project should be a done deal."
New York state will stop funding new or ongoing construction projects as of April 1 and will hold back $2.1 billion in school aid for two months.
The freeze on spending is necessitated because temporary state spending bills, which take effect Thursday, do not include any appropriations to pay for construction work.
The action potentially places hundreds of projects in jeopardy around the state, and it may lead contractors to halt projects and temporarily lay off workers. The state Department of Transportation has begun notifying contractors of the impact of the temporary spending bills.
That got me wondering about the status of the construction taking place at the elementary school in Gasport since that involved state funds. So, I inquired about that with a school board member who replied with the following:
"Our project is bonded already and we pay the contractors directly. We covered the district upfront cost with capitol funds we already had and the BOCES lease pays off the bond payments. This project should be a done deal."
