By Robert Remler
Capital bond projects near completion
The multi-million dollar capital construction program underway in the Valley Stream Central High School District is racing against the opening day school bell.
Back on October 7, 1998, residents of Valley Stream voted to approved a $37 million bond for capital construction projects. Now, harvest time has come for the seeds the voters sowed on bond ballot day.
Two weeks from opening day, Bond Project Administrator Joseph Singleton insists the bond work will be completed on time and within budget. According to Mr. Singleton, the district borrowed the last $5 million of the bond this past week. He said the interest rates were actually lower than what the board projected back in October of 1998. "We are within budget, within the time line, and the interest costs are below what we expected," said Mr. Singleton.
The project administrator's 'still to do list' includes completing additions at North and South High Schools, Memorial Jr. High School and Central High's band room before students and teachers begin the new semester. A new elevator at Central will hopefully be ready by the first day of school, but that might be a week late, said Mr. Singleton. Other interior renovations underway include libraries at Memorial and North High.
Also still to be done before the opening of school is the completion of additions to the cafeterias at Memorial, North and South High Schools. Mr. Singleton said that each of the additions will also have multi-purpose use.
Mr. Singleton has managed a contingent of almost 70 different contractors. In the waning weeks of August, crews are working six, sometimes seven days a week to complete the work on schedule, said Mr. Singleton. Fortunately for all, the abundance of August rains did not slow down the project because much of the work now takes place indoors.
In addition to all the bricks and mortar, the district has embarked on an ambitious technology program. Mr. Singleton said that a Wide Area Network, a technological system which electronically connects computers throughout the district, is already operational.
Recently, Mr. Singleton provided the Herald with a tour of the technology control center that lies behind a locked door inside a corridor near Memorial Junior High School. A technology consultant sitting in front of a bank of screens, estimated the value of the computer hardware and software just inside that one room to be worth several hundred thousand dollars.
When school opens on September 6, Mr. Singleton expected that all of the district's new computers will be installed and operational.
With the departure of former Superintendent Brooks, Mr. Singleton was asked to assume the role of interim superintendent during part of July and August until the arrival of Dr. Ronald Valenti, the new superintendent. The added responsibility has not proven to be a burden for Mr. Singleton: "Just time consuming." Mr. Singleton's resume includes two other interim positions. For one year, he was an interim superintendent in Syosett. Prior to that, he served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Western Suffolk BOCES program.
Each principal within the district designed an alternate plan in June if work is not completed on time, said Mr. Singleton. Hopefully, those alternate plans will be the only items scrapped from the high school district building project.
