Manhasset school district construction could come down to the wire this summer, but officials are hopeful the schools will be ready for students in September.
During a Manhasset Board of Education meeting Thursday, Trustee Carlo Prinzo expressed concern over the move-in date at Manhasset Secondary School, set for Sept. 1.
“I feel like the building itself has suffered from the construction, and all the stuff is out in the hallway, covered in dirt and dust,” Prinzo said. “The floors are jackhammered and chopped up to run the lines and all that, and they’ve got a lot of stuff going on.”
The general contractor for the projects is National Insulation Corp. of Oyster Bay.
The first day of the 2017-18 school year is Sept. 5, and Superintendent Vincent Butera said teachers should be in their classrooms on time and ready for students.
Since moving last semester the district’s administration offices into the converted bus garage, three art rooms will be installed in the former district office.
Butera said the secondary school’s band, orchestra and chorus rooms are also being relocated this summer for more efficient space, five science classrooms and lab rooms will be renovated, and a new technology classroom will be installed in a section of the academic computer center.
The secondary school 5,635-square-foot cafeteria will also be expanded 1,300 square feet in order to cut down on student congestion at lunch tables. Butera said the district is also planning to redo the flooring in the existing section of the cafeteria, and that work is expected to begin in August.
The addition would eliminate six parking spaces from the school’s rear lot. Air-conditioning units would be installed on the roof of the cafeteria extension, financed by a $240,000 gift from the Manhasset School Community Association.
Munsey Park Elementary School is also under construction this summer.
The elementary school’s cafeteria kitchen will be expanded and air conditioning will be installed. Two sixth grade classrooms will be updated for science classes, and the band and orchestra areas will be reconfigured to allow for larger music rooms.
The projects are part of the $22.6 million capital plan approved in 2014 with a corresponding $19.96 million bond. Projects were decided by the district’s long-range planning committee – comprised of residents and assisted by district administrators and architects – after touring the three school buildings.
