The Sewanhaka Central High School Board of Education is considering a fall bond proposition to address a portion of the $78.17 million in repairs and construction needs identified at the school district’s five high schools in board- commissioned report.
“I believe that the board will go out with a bond proposal. The roofs on some of the schools need to be repaired,” said board Trustee David Del Santo. “They need our attention. It’s our responsibility to take care of them. We need to do this sooner than later.”
Del Santo said the board would prioritize the projects in three groups and address the most pressing needs first in the bond proposal. He said there wasn’t sufficient time to prepare a proposition for the May 21 school district election.
Del Santo’s comments followed an appearance at Tuesday night’s board meeting by Richard W. Wiedersum, president of Wiedersum Associates Architects, the Hauppauge-based firm commissioned to evaluate the district’s facilities.
Wiedersum answered questions on a revised report he submitted to the board on needed repairs and upgrades to the district schools. Among the district needs identified at a March 18 school board meeting was replacement of athletic fields at each of the five high schools as well as other improvements at all five schools.
“We have to start shaping what we’re going to do here if we’re going to start shaping these things by the summer,” Sewanhaka Superintendent of Schools Ralph Ferrie said at the outset of the discussion.
He recommended the board schedule a 7 p.m. meeting before its scheduled May 7 budget hearing to discuss the Wiedersum reports with the ad hoc committee of district residents who have been involved in assessing the needs in the district school buildings.
Wiedersum executives met with a committee of five residents representing each high school, as well as the high school administrators and school board members, to get their suggestions on the work to be done, according to William Laverty, Wiedersum project coordinator. Laverty said Wiedersum executives also conducted “walk-throughs” at each high school to develop their plans.
Wiedersum projected an estimated $10.3 million in upgrades at New Hyde Park Memorial High School, including $1.3 million for a new turf athletic field, $2 million for heating ventilation, $1.1 million for a music room, and $1.8 million for improvements to the auditorium, including $800,00 for an air conditioning system.
Del Santo expressed reservations about the projected costs and questioned Wiedersum at Tuesday night’s meeting about the planned installation of a turf field.
“I’m a fiscal hawk and I’m having trouble reconciling this,” Del Santo said.
He asked Wiedersum if the planned resurfacing of the running track at New Hyde Park Memorial this summer would “jeopardize” the eventual installation of a turf field included in Widersum’s plans.
“We have put turf fields in when tracks have been resurfaced,” Wiedersum said.
Del Santo said issues on the fence lines at the New Hyde Park Memorial athletic fields need to be addressed along with security issues.
“Security is probably first and foremost in everybody’s mind,” Del Santo said.
Wiedersum said his company had addressed use of ID cards for access to the high school entrance and nine interior doors. He said installation of security cameras had not been addressed.
Board Trustee Joseph Armocida said he thought a projected cost of $7 million to upgrade the Sewanhaka gymnasium seemed “excessive.”
Wiedersum said the new gym would have a 900-seat capacity and could be used for events besides athletic contests.
“You can utilize that facility for multiple purposes,” Wiedersum said.
Armocida said the board needs to decide whether to issue a bond for the work and how much the bond would be before setting its priorities.
“Only then can we determine what projects would get selected,” he said.
Del Santo said it won’t be an easy proposal for the board to take to the public, but it is necessary.
“We need to do it now. Now we’re exploring. We don’t know how big the bond will be,” Del Santo said.
Ferrie said he’ll have a better idea of what he’ll recommend to the board after the May 7 meeting with the ad hoc committee.
“We’re following through with what the board wants us to do with assessing the facilities. There are needs,” he said.
He said Floral Park’s football field had to be closed this year and the track at New Hyde Park Memorial was also deemed unfit for use, prompting the resurfacing plans. The Wiedersum report recommended replacing and upgrading athletic fields at all five high schools.
Maureen Kenney, Sewanhaka assistant superintendent of finance and operations, has said each $10 million the school district borrowed would translate to an additional average $22 on each district resident’s tax bill. She said the district would seek state aid for some of the projects.
