Few projects on horizon in high school district

The Central High School District’s administrators are recommending few capital projects to the Board of Education for inclusion in the 2010-11 budget, primarily because of the unknown status of state aid. The proposed projects total $206,000 in repairs at its four schools.

Last Saturday, school officials invited the public to tour the district’s four buildings and see which capital projects have been completed over the last year, and projects the district would like to tackle in the upcoming school year.

“I’m drawing my line, and it’s health and safety,” Superintendent Dr. Marc Bernstein said of the short list of recommended projects.

At North High School, the only capital project recommended for inclusion in the 2010-11 budget were miscellaneous blacktop and concrete repairs, estimated to cost $15,000. The same project was recommended for Memorial Junior High School, which is also expected to cost the same amount.

The most projects recommended to be put in next year’s budget were at South High School, which included exterior sidewalk repairs, a renovation to the special education office, and the installation of permanent lab stations with sinks in the science labs.

South Principal Maureen Henry said 15 teachers share the small special education office, and she’d like to tear down one of the walls to create some extra room to accommodate her staff. The estimated cost of expanding the office is $7,500.

In certain science labs at South, there are portable sinks that are not connected into the school’s plumbing system, Henry said, so students have to use class time to fill buckets of water that then get pumped through the antiquated sink and faucets. The estimated cost of the sink installation is $17,500.

At Central High School, the recommended projects included outdoor concrete repairs — expected to cost $15,000 — and the installation of a new carpet in the school’s auditorium. Principal Dr. Joseph Pompilio said the old carpet is ripped and it poses a tripping hazards to students. The estimated cost for laying new carpets is $11,000.

Wayne Loper, assistant superintendent of finance and operations, said there aren’t any capital reserve-funded projects being recommended for this year because of a state-mandated building survey the district will undergo during the first few months of the 2010-11 school year. The survey is done every five years, he said, and once it’s complete, the district will know the future needs of the district’s facilities. Depending on what repairs the state deems the district may need, Loper said it could require spending from the district’s capital reserve fund. “We’re going to have to prioritize how we use our capital reserve fund,” Loper said.

Some capital reserve-funded projects recommended for voter approval in May 2011 include installing white boards at all four schools to replace chalkboards, replacing ceilings and lights at Memorial and putting in digital message signs in the front of each school. “I’m not putting anything out there until state aid is determined,” Bernstein said.