Schools seek funding for renovations

There is currently one band room at Lynbrook High School, and the orchestra and chorus programs share the auditorium space.

NIck Ciccone/Herald

This is the area where the three-story addition would be built if the bond is approved. The softball field would be renovated, and the obstacle course would be moved to the far side of the courtyard.

Nick Ciccone/Herald

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A reimagined Lynbrook High School could be coming in the next few years, pending a $45 million bond referendum next spring that the Board of Education approved at its meeting on Nov. 18. The bond would fund the construction of a three-story theater with a 646-seat performing arts center, as well as extensive renovations to the existing building.

School Superintendent Melissa Burak and high school Principal Joseph Rainis gave the Herald a tour of the building last week to highlight the scope of the project.

“Lynbrook High School is the oldest still-functioning high school on Long Island,” said Burak. It was built in 1922, and there have been no major renovations since the 1970s.

A bond vote authorizes the district to present a construction plan to commercial lenders, to let them decide whether they want to invest. “It’s kind of like going to multiple lenders for your mortgage,” explained Paul Lynch, the district’s assistant superintendent for finance, operations and information systems. The district, he said, presents a case to the lenders as to why it is a “good risk for debt.” Then, once a plan is finalized, willing lenders issue the district the funds for construction, and the district pays them back over the life of the bond — in this case, 20 years.

If the bond is approved, the district will receive approximately 22 percent of the $45 million plus interest in state building aid. The project would cost the average homeowner $357 per year for 20 years.

Renovations and revamping at the high school

The three-story addition would provide adequate space for the high school’s band, chorus and orchestra programs, which are now limited to one band room and a small auditorium. The addition would benefit the entire district, Burak said, because performances and concerts would no longer have to be held in the high school gym — and the district would no longer have to pay custodians overtime to prepare it for gym classes the next day, she said.