59.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Work never stops at Valley Stream schools
There aren’t many pencils, books or teacher’s dirty looks in the months of July and August. It’s a time when most students are on summer vacation and many school buildings are nearly empty. But just because there aren’t book reports or essays to be graded in Valley Stream’s 14 schools over the summer doesn’t mean there isn’t any work getting done.
In fact, while students and teachers are out for summer vacation, construction crews and contractors come in. Officials and Board of Education members from each of Valley Stream’s four school districts have planned work for the respective facilities, and with school starting back up in early September, it’s almost time to for the various projects to wrap up.
Crews at District 13 are in the process of installing new cabinets and sinks in each of the four schools, in addition to new bathroom partitions in Wheeler Avenue and Howell Road. One of the larger projects that is slated to get under way in the near future is a partial roof replacement at Willow Road. According to Jim Daly, supervisor of school facilities and operations, the district has been doing roof replacements a section at a time for years as a way to cut down on costs.
“It’s a cost effective way to do it rather than doing the whole thing at once,” he said, “especially when we have buildings that are being used for programs during the summer.”
Daly estimated that the project at Willow Road would take three weeks to complete. It is part of the district’s capital project and will cost about $300,000. Daly added that the roofs at the James A. Dever and Wheeler Avenue schools have been completed in years past and the gym roofs of Willow Road and Howell Road will likely be next.
The three schools in District 24 are getting exterior touch-ups this summer as part of at $260,000 masonry project. Assistant Superintendent Dan Onorato said the chimneys at the Robert W. Carbonaro and William L. Buck schools are being repaired. There are also some exterior bricks at Buck that are being realigned.
The front steps of Brooklyn Avenue are being rebuilt this summer and the inside of the school’s chimney was relined. Onorato said that architects suggested the work be done during the annual inspection of the district’s facilities. “We were obviously in need to get these projects done to maintain the integrity of the buildings,” Onorato said.
District 30 is working on several projects to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and to shore up its facilities, including new doors at three schools and new ramps at the entrances of Forest Road and Shaw Avenue.
The district is also in process of installing new district-wide air handling and ventilation units, replacing floors upgrading heating and air conditioning controls at Clear Stream, Forest Road and Shaw Avenue schools.
There will also be new pavement, sidewalks and steps around Forest Road and new sidewalks, blacktop for the playground and lighting outside Shaw Avenue. Voters approved these projects in May 2011 and the cost is $1.4 million. Lisa Rutkoske, assistant superintendent for business, said work would be completed by the end of September or early October.
The Central High School District is focusing more on small projects this summer, according to Wayne Loper, assistant superintendent for finance and operations. There are new emergency escape windows being installed at Central High, in addition to district-wide ventilation and fire alarm repairs and renovations.
New bleachers at the North High track will be noticeable this school year and the roof of the auto shop at Central will be repaired. These projects, and others, are a part of the $1 million proposition that was passed by voters in May 2011 to take money funds from the district’s capital reserves.
Despite no large-scale projects in the Central High School District, Loper said it’s always important make repairs and renovations. “They take care, and they pay attention to their facilities,” Loper said of the Board of Education, “and that’s very important because if you don’t do your routine maintenance it leads to bigger and more costly repairs in the long run, so small items like these are very important.”
