By:Jennifer Marino
"We can't wed ourselves to these numbers right now," said Superintendent William Johnson, noting that the figures are gross estimates.
The emphasis was on "health, safety and repair," as Johnson had suggested at the last Board of Education meeting. The list was compiled with help from the district's architect. All of the items on the list are up for discussion by the board and a list that includes which items are of the utmost priority is expected at the August board meeting.
One item that inspired some discussion was a keyless entry system included for each building. The system would cost $6,500 at each of the elementary schools and $10,000 each at South Side Middle School and High School.
The system addresses security issues at the schools. There have been problems with distribution and reproduction of keys. The keyless entry system would use swipe cards that could double as identification cards. The cards would let the schools see who is coming and going from the buildings and when. Certain cards could be blocked, for example if a swipe card was lost, its code could be de-activated and then the district wouldn't have to change all the locks in the building and give the whole staff new keys.
Teachers also wouldn't have to prop open doors to get back after taking their students outside to the playground. All the doors could be locked or opened from a central location. Audience members at the meeting, including Shareen Allen and Jeff Greenfield, approved of the keyless entry system because of the safety precautions it allows.
One of the largest single items on the list was $2.5 million for steam pipe replacements at South Side Middle School. The project would be for the entire building and would need to be done within the next 10 to 20 years. The pipes that are encased in cement under the school need to excavated sooner, according to Assistant Superintendent Robert Bartels. It would be a major project that would have to be done over the summer with some excavation of the exterior sidewalk.
The bond issue will continue to be discussed at Board of Education meetings with the hope that it will go to the residents for a vote in December. If approved some of the urgent projects will be bid in February 2005 so work can start in spring and summer 2005. The entire list of work would be staggered and finished within 10 years.
