North Bellmore construction bond passes easily

The North Bellmore School District's investment bond passed by a vote of 1,063 to 362 on March 24. The nearly $8.8 million bond will finance repairs for all six district schools, and will include:

• Replacement of boilers at the Martin Avenue, Newbridge Road, Park Avenue and Saw Mill Road elementary schools.

• Upgrading of electrical work at Dinkelmeyer Elementary School. • Floor tile replacement at all six district elementary schools. This includes any floors where asbestos floor tiles are loose or require replacement owing to health and safety reasons.

• Replacement of the original interior and exterior doors and locks on all buildings, which would enable them to be secured in a lockdown.

The passage was good news for Superintendent Arnold Goldstein and Assistant Superintendent for Business Toni Cincotta, who had hosted presentations for North Bellmore residents leading up to the vote. Both had stressed that passing the bond was imperative in order to keeping the upcoming 2010-11 budget as low as possible. The repairs could not be delayed any further, and the administration would have been forced to make repairs using the 2010-11 capital budget.

The nearly three-to-one margin was far higher than had been expected, Goldstein said. "The Board of Education and I are very grateful for the overwhelming support of the community," he said.

Goldstein added that he believes that informative pamphlets and presentations helped the public understand that the building repairs were essential. The bond "will make a great difference toward making sure that our buildings remain safe and in good shape for educating our children," he said.