After the students of MacArthur Elementary in Binghamton were displaced by the flood of September 2011, administrators are hoping a new proposal will have them soon returning to a permanent building. On Monday evening, a public hearing was held to present the rebuilding project to the community. Administrators, financial planners, and architects were all on hand to answers questions and concerns from the public. One major issue was the decision to build the new school on the existing site of the school, which would feature columns to elevate the building 5 feet above the 500-year flood plain. The project requires pre-construction costs, site preparation, legal and insurance fees, with a total cost of $77.8 million. FEMA and New York state will pay for most of the project, with the local share amounting to about $2.9 million. If this proposal were to be approved, local residents would pay an additional $6.60 in taxes each year per $100,000 in assessed home and property value. A public referendum vote will be held on April 15th. If approved, construction would allow for the facility to welcome students by September of 2015.
