AUBURN -- The Auburn Enlarged City School District Long Range Planning Committee got specific on Monday.

For weeks, the board of education committee has floated $14.9 million as the estimated cost of its proposed capital project, of which $3.5 million would be earmarked for renovations at Holland Stadium, including concrete work, lighting, the installation of synthetic turf, enhancing the walking track and additional parking.

During a committee worksession Monday, Bernard P. Donegan, a financial manager with whom the school district contracts, unveiled specific numbers, including the true estimated cost as well as taxpayer contribution.

The overall cost of the capital project slated for the 2009-10 school year, Donegan said, is an all-inclusive $15,680,000, an estimated figure that takes into account interest, state aid, taxpayer contribution and any variables that may incur between now and then.

Donegan said he used conservative numbers in calculating facets of the project, such as interest rates and state aid, as a way to prevent a situation in which the district sees the project costing more than expected and taxpayers getting a spike in taxes.

Currently, the project is 87.6 percent aidable.

For more, read Tuesday's Citizen