By NANCY HILER
The North Bellmore district takes in a number of North Merrick children, who attend Park Avenue Elementary School.
The district's director of facilities, Chris Milano, presented the funding proposal to the public at the Sept. 6 Board of Education meeting, which called for various types and levels of renovations and repairs to all six elementary schools in the district. Although the board has yet to decide when a proposal will be brought before voters, it could be as early as December or delayed as long as May budget season.
Among the capital improvements, the proposal calls for replacing the majority of ceiling and floor tiles in all of the schools and for heating system enhancements and central air-conditioning in all-purpose rooms in some buildings. It would also fund a number of construction projects in some of the buildings, such as elevators to accommodate the handicapped and building additions to expand classroom space.
The proposed $38,276,516 bond issue, as outlined currently, would be attributed as follows:
€ $3.95 to Martin Avenue School, which would include a music room addition, replacement of boilers and burners and a bus loop-type front circle, among other things.
€ $5.14 to John Dinkelmeyer School earmarked for a new four-classroom addition, with an elevator, relocation of the main office and central air-conditioning in the all-purpose room, as well as various repairs.
€ $3.27 to Jacob Gunther School to address various security issues such as providing for a lobby vestibule and to add central air conditioning to the all purpose room, as well as other repairs and capital improvements.
€ $ 4.04 to Park Avenue School, which would provide for similar items as the Gunther school.
€ $4.51 to Saw Mill Road School to replace a boiler and burners, install an elevator, reconfigure the entranceway and add a new parking area, among other items.
€ $17.3 to Newbridge Road School, the oldest building, which would include among other repairs a new roofing system and the construction of an addition that would house classrooms and a new library.
The district expects to recoup about $1.2 million of these expenditures in the form of state Excel Aid.
Additionally, an Energy Performance Contract is in the works, which is designed to fund another $3.2 million in lighting and other energy-saving upgrades throughout the district with no cost to taxpayers.
The need for extensive capital projects first came to light in the spring of 2006 when the district's then architect, the H2M Group, put a price tag of close to $18 million in 2006 dollars on making "bare bones" repairs to bring the six buildings into satisfactory condition.
Since then, a district Facilities Planning Committee comprising volunteers including administrators, district staff and community members further researched and examined the buildings' capital improvement needs and made recommendations to the board. Also, the district hired a new architectural firm, JAG/John A. Grillo Architects, in February 2007, which inspected and evaluated the condition of buildings and grounds throughout the district and reported its findings as well.
As a result, information provided by the committee, and by the previous and the current architects, as well as their own research has gone into the administration's and board's deliberations in reaching the current proposal.
Comments about this story? Nhiler@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
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