By Leslie Gonzalez
Repairs underway in Malverne
The Malverne Board of Education has approved an order for emergency repairs to several of it's school buildings, a decision passed unanimously at a school board meeting held last Tuesday at Malverne High School. Supervisor of Facilities James O'Beirne described the repairs as "serious and necessary" to preserve a safe environment for students and staff, and to avoid possible area and/or school closure.
The repairs will address critical damage caused by recent intense rains and temperature fluctuations. Maurice W. Downing Elementary School has suffered leaks to its rubber roofing over the annex, breezeway and main building rear entrance. Addressing student safety concerns, an architect will inspect damage to the original plaster above subsequent drop ceilings.
Also damaged is the rubber roofing over the high school's locker room stairwells, located on the building's north side, and the high school's elevated west entrance platform, located off of Ocean Avenue. The leaky platform is located directly above a 400 amp electrical service room that provides power to the high school building.
Earlier this year, voters in the Malverne School District rejected a two-phase $11.2 million capital bond issue which would have provided funds for repair of various school structural facilities. The roofing at Downing and the high school's platform were two sites included in the bond issue. School officials at the time had attributed the bond issue's defeat to the fact that, in Malverne, the lions share of the tax burden falls upon homeowners, and it was simply too much, when combined with the regular school budget.
The scenario occurring in Malverne is being replicated in school districts throughout New York State, where school buildings constructed many years ago are beginning to experience structural deficiencies. To address that need, the state authorized additional state aid for school districts which approved capital improvement bond issues during the period ending in June 2000. Since Malverne voters did not approve such authorization, the funds to repair the schools must come from the district's operating budget contingency fund.
Total cost for the repairs is estimated at $180,500, for which the district will use the 2% contingency fund specifically reserved for such circumstances. School officials note that while there are sufficient funds in the contingency fund to cover the immediate repairs, it will need to be replenished in next year's budget.
