Financial squeeze could impact District 24 facilities

Improvements to facilities in District 24 could be put on the back burner because of tight finances, though school leaders said the work will need to be done sooner or later.

The district hosted its annual building tour last Saturday morning. Administrators, Board of Education members and residents toured the three schools to see projects that have been completed, as well as work that needs to be done in the future. Superintendent Dr. Edward Fale said school officials are in the process of determining a schedule for these projects.

Facilities Director Charles Brocher showed off the new electrical panels at the William L. Buck School which were installed over the summer. He said it doubled the school’s electrical capacity. The same work was done at the Robert W. Carbonaro School the year before.

Brocher said he would like to upgrade the electrical system at the 107-year-old Brooklyn Avenue School, which is antiquated. The cost would be about $460,000. Without a better system, he said adding more technology such as computers and SmartBoards would be nearly impossible.

The work, which Fale said he wanted to have completed this coming summer, could be pushed off to 2015. Dwindling reserves, coupled with an anticipated increase in state aid of less than 1 percent, will likely leave District 24 with little money for facilities improvements next year. On the flip side, he noted that spending for capital projects is good, because it is an exemption in the tax cap formula and would give the district a higher tax levy limit for next year.

Fale said if the district gets a significant boost in aid from the state Legislature, then officials could revisit the project for this summer. He also said that if a state technology referendum becomes a reality, the district’s allocation would be about $500,000. Fale expects that money to be available in 2015, and he believes it could be used for the electrical work. “The electrical upgrade is made necessary because of the use of technology,” he said.

Board of Education President Paul DePace said the electrical upgrades at Brooklyn Avenue are a priority and hopes money will be there to get it done. “That’s an important item as far as running the schools,” he said.

Sidewalks and windows

Another project that needs to be completed, Brocher said, is the construction of new sidewalks around the Brooklyn Avenue School. He said the sidewalks and curbs are cracked in many spots, and someone was injured in front of the school a few weeks ago because of uneven concrete.

Brocher said he wants to have the sidewalks done from the gym doors on Fifth Street, all around the building to the fields on Sixth Street, including the front walk. The board, he said, will have to decide if it wants to remove trees, which are causing the sidewalks to lift in several spots. Also, Brocher is looking to partner with the village to install new decorative street lamps in front of the school, similar to the ones on Rockaway Avenue.

Window panels at the Buck and Carbonaro Schools are rusting and rotting in several locations, Brocher said, and need to be replaced. He also said the seals are broken on several windows, which were installed in the mid-1980s.

DePace said replacing all the panels and windows are on his wish list. “There’s a lifespan of these things,” he said. “Sooner of later we’ve got to plan to do it. Those two schools need it, but you’re talking about a major amount of money.”

Ventilation units in rooms in the new wings at those two schools also need to be replaced, Brocher said. The units are more than 10 years old, and replacement parts are hard to come by. The district is spending so much in repairs, Brocher explained, that new units would actually be more cost effective.

He said the ventilation units also need to be repaired in the school gymnasiums. Brocher explained that this would provide guests with a more comfortable environment during the elementary school graduations in June.

The final stop on the tour was the district’s maintenance building behind the Carbonaro School. A two-bay garage was added, and the height of the building was raised by 10 feet. Brocher said this will increase work space for the district’s maintenance crew. When funds become available, Brocher said he wants to add a mezzanine level to increase storage space.

DePace said that overall the schools are in good shape, but there is work that needs to be done to keep the facilities up to par. He said in the coming weeks, board members will sit down and discuss its priorities for the 2014-15 school year. The next meeting is set for Feb. 27.