P-R FIRM HIRED

For this vote, the district is using the services of WriteEdge Communications of Gansevoort to help publicize the project to residents.

That's resulted in a slogan for the project, "What are we building? It's more than just bricks and mortar," which the district will use in flyers and ads.

McDonald said he felt that a previous building project in 2003 was sabotaged by an erroneous anonymous flyer that was inserted into copies of a weekly paper just before the vote. That project, for $20.7 million, included a swimming pool and new gymnasium -- items that are not in the current project.

The previous project may have been defeated by the inaccurate flyer, McDonald said, so the Facilities Committee asked the architects if they could recommend a public-relations firm to counter any negative campaign. The $9,500 cost to hire the consultants will be included in the architectural fees, he said.

"There was a lot of misinformation that came out in the last project. We did not do a good job of educating (residents). The committee felt we needed to do a good job (this time) and deal with the misinformation."

CHARACTER

The project's slogan is meant to convey the fact that they're also building the character of their students with a good education, McDonald said.

Using the academy model will mean incorporating top-level ethics, work habits and skills into the curriculum, he said.

"We're trying to address the needs of our kids, to provide them with opportunities. We believe art, music and technology are part of a well-rounded education."

lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com