Others should follow the Oceanside School District model

To the Editor:

Last week, the Oceanside School District’s Building and Grounds committee presented its annual report to the school board and the community recommending capital improvements to the school district’s facilities and grounds. The committee is comprised of volunteer community members and school district employees who do annual inspections of the interiors and exteriors of all of the school district’s grounds and facilities. The committee’s members include architects, engineers and tradesmen, as well as laypeople.

As a member for the past three years, I have experienced the hard work and dedication of the B&G committee members; I have also witnessed the direct impact the B&G committee’s recommendations have had on the school district’s decisions concerning capital improvements. Despite the enormous success of the committee in the school district, however, it is quite surprising how very few municipalities have implemented a similar type of community-based buildings and grounds committee. I urge other local governmental units, such as the Oceanside Public Library, to seriously consider using a similar committee to inspect and recommend improvements to their buildings and grounds.

Seth J. Blau

Oceanside