The Sewanhaka Central High School Board of Education will meet on Sept. 2 with three construction management firms to review their bids and select one to oversee the capital improvement work planned for the district’s five high schools with funds from an $86.6 million bond.
Sewanhaka Superintendent of Schools Ralph Ferrie announced plans for the meeting at Tuesday night’s school board meeting.
“We’re hopeful after speaking with the three groups, I hope we will select one of the three bidders then,” Sewanhaka school board President David Fowler said after the meeting.
Fowler said the board will vote to approve the bid it selects at its Sept. 23 meeting.
The $86.6 million bond will be used to replace or repair the roofs at all five district high schools, replace classroom windows, make masonry repairs, renovate the auditoriums of the five high schools and install a new turf field at each school.
District voters approved the $86.6 million bond by a nearly 2-1 margin in the school district election in May.
Fowler said some members of the board met with a larger group of bidders for the construction management contract earlier this summer and narrowed down the field to three companies.
Ferrie said a ground-breaking ceremony for the bond projects will be held at the Alvin T. Sanford Athletic Fields in Elmont on Sept. 17. Upgrade of those fields, including installation of a new irrigation system and leveling the fields, is slated to start this fall.
During the Tuesday night meeting, Ferrie said the district administration is currently reviewing bids it recently received for energy performance contracts intended to cover capital improvements that would not be funded with the bond.
“We’re analyzing them now,” Ferrie said
Fowler said he expects the board to meet with those companies to review the proposed energy performance contracts in the fall.
He said it remains to be determined how the energy performance contracts will be coordinated with the capital improvements under the bond.
An energy education company, Cynergistic, conducted an analysis of district buildings and estimated district energy costs could be reduced by as much as 15 percent.
“We’re looking to save money everywhere we can that doesn’t affect students programs,” Fowler said.
Over the summer, Ferrie said several capital improvement projects funded under the 2014-15 district budget were completed.
He said a new ceiling was installed at the New Hyde Park Memorial High School gymnasium and the gym was repainted. The gymnasium floors at Floral Park Memorial High School were refinished, he said.
Ferrie said a new elevator will be installed in Elmont Memorial High School before the school year starts and plans are moving ahead for installation of a new elevator at H. Frank Carey High School.
Ferrie said the projects, including the Elmont elevator, cost approximately $500,000.
At last night’s meeting the board also approved an intermunicipal agreement to accept a $250,000 grant from Nassau County for electronic signs at each of the district high schools. The grant was recently secured by county legislators Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park), Carrie Solages (D-Elmont) and Vincent Muscarella (R-Franklin Square).
“It’s been a busy summer,” Ferrie said.
