By Andrew Hackmack
Members of the Board of Education and the public got a look at more than $2 million in proposed capital projects throughout the Valley Stream Central High School District. The annual building tour was held last Saturday morning as a stepping stone into deeper budget discussions.
Superintendent Dr. Marc Bernstein said all the items addressed during the tour are needs that have been identified by administrators. He explained that the tour is only a starting point and ultimately the board of education will decide which projects will be included in the 2008-2009 school budget.
Within a handout listing all these items, each project was given a priority number, assigned by Bernstein. Priority 1 means it is critical to health and safety needs, or vital to the instructional program. Priority 2 are projects that need to be done but can wait a year or two, while Priority 3 are items where then need is not imminent.
The tour began at North High School, led by Principal Cliff O'Dell. The first stop was the cafeteria, which doubles as the auditorium. O'Dell is requesting a new sound system, similar to the upgrades made at South High School last year. He is also asking for new cafeteria tables with benches attached that are easier to fold up and move when the room must be cleaned.
O'Dell is also seeking to have the carpeting replaced in the main and guidance offices. In the wrestling room, a ventilation system needs to be installed and the mat needs to be replaced.
At South High School, Principal Maureen Henry is seeking to have air conditioning installed in the orchestra room. She explained that because the music program is so popular, the room can be crowded and hot. The air conditioning would also help keep the instruments in better shape, she said.
Sinks need to be replaced in the technology rooms, Henry said. One sink would be a group hand washing station while the other would be a large commercial sink ideal for washing tools.
In one of the science rooms, Henry is seeking to have air conditioning installed to help improve the overall air quality. She said because the windows are adjacent to the cafeteria, the odors from the kitchen often are smelled in the room, especially during the warmer weather when the windows are open. She said one student actually had to be moved out of the room because of this problem.
Bernstein said that if this is a health and safety issue, then air quality tests should be done in the room to see if there is a real concern and if air conditioning is in fact the solution. He said any repair should be need-driven.
Henry is seeking some upgrades to the math and Languages Other Than English offices including shelving, lighting and teacher workstations. Bernstein said most rooms throughout the district used for department offices were not originally planned for that. They were spaces identified at some point by building administrators and many have not been adequately renovated for the new use.
Central High School Principal Dr. Joseph Pompilio has several offices he would like to upgrade. The special education office needs a drop ceiling to cover pipes that serve the library's air conditioning. A window, that looks into a classroom on the other side, also needs to be removed. He said because the special education chairperson often uses the room for conversations with parents, those talks can sometimes be heard on the other side of the window and that violates confidentiality rights. Pompilio is also wants more shelving installed for the teachers who use the room. "It's their home away from home," he said.
To get an idea of what these renovations would look like, the tour stopped at the social studies office, which recently underwent a similar overhaul.
Within the attendance office, there is an office for one of the assistant principals and a secretary. The old wooden walls to do not reach the ceiling and Pompilio said many confidential conversations take place there. He wants full-height walls put in.
In the guidance office, he wants to have a wall knocked down and a counter installed to create a waiting area for students. As for the gymnasiums, past roof leaks have caused damage to the floors. Now that roofs have been replaced, Pompilio wants to repair the floors of both gyms.
Gym floor rehabilitation is proposed at all four schools. The entire floors would be sanded and smoothed, re-striped and resurfaced. Another common project would be repairing the running tracks at North, South and Central. Worn patches would be fixed and the top layer would be resurfaced.
Board member William Stris noted that the last time the tracks were replaced was in 2000, part of the bond project approved by voters in 1998. It was noted during the tour that the tracks have a 7 to 10-year life span. The tracks at North and Central are more worn in the middle while the track at South High School has more wear and tear around the edges. The South track would be the most costly of the three to fix at about $136,000.
Bernstein is recommending that the track at North be resurfaced next year while the South and Central tracks wait until the following year. "Our opinion is that all three have to be done over a two-year period," he said.
At Memorial Junior High School, Principal Dr. Kathleen Walsh is requesting a new sound system for the gymnasium, which is also used for assemblies and concerts. She also said additional lighting is needed there.
For the cafeterias, Walsh wants to have air conditioning installed. She said during the warm months, the cafeterias get very hot because of the adjacent kitchens and the crowds. However, with an estimated $335,000 cost, Bernstein said that is not one of his top priorities.
Walsh is also looking to have the floor tiles replaced in the "Green Mile," the long hallway which runs from the front wing of the school back toward district offices on the second floor. Bernstein said that the district will be wrapping up its ceiling replacement schedule in the next two years and then he hopes to start a five to six-year floor tile replacement plan.
Other proposed projects for next year include a new district-wide phone system as well as the purchase of a new utility van.
As for all these projects, it is now up to the board education to decide what will be included in the 2008-2009 spending plan. The next round of serious budget discussions will take place at the next board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 5.
Comments about this story? AHackmack@ liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
Photos by Andrew Hackmack/Herald
