By:Jennifer Marino
The school district had come up with a list of possible capital projects to include in the bond issue for the July 1 board meeting, which totaled about $11.5 million. The districtÕs architect has come up with his own list, which totals about $24 million.
The architect is expected to accompany the board on its tour of the school buildings on Sept. 1, and members hope to have a prioritized list of projects at that time.
The architect had been instructed to come up with a list, with health, safety and repair as the priorities. In some cases, his estimates are higher than the district would actually pay. For instance, the district generally uses its own staff to re-do bathrooms, which would cost about half the architectÕs estimate.
There is also the possibility of getting rebates from companies such as the Long Island Power Authority for some repairs, like those to the heating systems.
Also included in the new list of projects was the addition of air conditioning to some buildings. In the past, the wood floors in gymnasiums and classrooms have had to be redone because they buckled due to heat and humidity. The idea is that the money spent to fix the floors could be saved by installing air conditioning.
The board asked that the items on the list be rated in some way to show what is critical, what will eventually be needed and what is desirable. Once the members have an idea of how many projects are critical, they can then decide how many ÒdesirableÓ items to include.
The plan is to spend the money judiciously in the years to come. The board would like to have some flexibility in how it is spent, so that if new space is needed in one or more buildings, money can be diverted to that emergency need.
Superintendent Dr. William Johnson would also like to address additional space needs with a separate, longer-term plan for instruction and the configuration of the buildings that would involve members of the public.
A prioritized list of projects for the bond issue is expected to be posted on the school district Web site, www.rvcschools.org, before the Sept. 1 tour of the buildings.
