The Manhasset Board of Education on Thursday approved spending up to $180,000 to repair several security cameras and fund the construction of a walkway from the Congregational Church of Manhasset to the entrance of Munsey Park Elementary School
The cameras and the walkway, trustees said, will allow for the school district’s use of the church parking lot during daytime hours.
Trustees approved up to $105,000 for the repair of cameras throughout the district to allow for the completion of the latest phase of security upgrades and $75,000 for the walkway, which Business Superintendent Rosemary Johnson said may also be supported financially by the Manhasset School Community Association and the Village of Munsey Park.
Johnson said her office will seek price quotes for the security camera repairs next week. The approved transfer of funds in the budget will not exceed $105,000, she said.
“[The repairs would] enhance view in several blind spots we detected when we finished the e-mapping process necessary for the next phase of upgrades to align properly with the Nassau County Police Department and BOCES,” Johnson said.
Manhasset Superintendent of Schools Charles Cardillo said talks to install a path from Munsey Park Elementary School to the church parking lot began last year between the school district, church and Village of Munsey Park.
Use of the parking lot would cut down on traffic congestion from the village onto Northern Boulevard during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up times at Munsey Park Elementary School and make the neighborhood safer for students who walk to and from school, Cardillo said.
The project was initially slated for completion in June, but Cardillo said the municipalities encountered issues with funding, a request to seek an alternate route to the school that did not cross the entrance to Munsey Park Village Hall and the alignment of building plans to accommodate the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The church has relaxed its parking regulations during evening hours, Cardillo said, and an agreement has been reached to extend the project deadline to the middle of September if necessary.
“We really won’t need the parking until Sept. 8 when school begins again, but even if we’re not ready for the 8th, we’re moving in that direction with [the church] even if we’re not ready until Sept. 15, we’re still OK,” Cardillo said.
In other developments:
• New district hires will participate in a three-day faculty orientation next week that includes a bus tour of the Manhasset community.
• Cardillo said students trying out for Manhasset High School’s junior varsity and varsity football teams are the “greatest numbers we’ve had in years.”
• The board plans to select a student delegate by its Sept. 18 meeting.
