As the Dec. 4 vote on the Sewanhaka Central High School District’s $99.5 million bond proposal to repair and upgrade district schools nears, Sewanhaka Superintendent of Schools Ralph Ferrie isn’t just counting the days until the vote – he’s also counting the number of presentations he’s done to convince district voters of the need for the bond.
As of last week’s presentation at the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park Board of Education meeting, he said, he and his staff had made 36 with 24 to go.
And so far, he said, the reaction he’s getting from the PTAs and other community groups he’s been pitching has been favorable.
“I think the so far the feedback is positive. Of course, there is concern about the impact on taxes. But there seems to be a general understanding that the buildings need upgrades and major renovations,” he said in a recent interview.
At a Tuesday night meeting of the new Garden City Park civic association, Residents for a More Beautiful Garden City Park, questions arose about the impact on taxes.
“It’s a lot of money for the community. All the things on the budget don’t seem necessary,” one resident said at the Garden City Park School gym where the meeting was held.
Kevin O’Brien, Sewanhaka assistant superintendent for finance and operations, said the project would cost the average taxpayer $144 a year.
O’Brien said the urgency of repairing roofs at the district schools is evident with every heavy rainfall.
“In New Hyde Park, it rains torrentially and rain comes through the kids’ lockers,” O’Brien said.
Ferrie has said the estimated $14.4 million in improvements at New Hyde Park Memorial would include new lighting throughout the building, new auditorium seating, flooring, lights and climate control, roof repairs, a repaved parking lot, new outdoor fencing and new wrestling and weight rooms.
“We’ve pretty much outlined what the process will be,” Ferrie said. “We’re making sure we maximize our return on state aid.”
Ferrie said the first projects the school district would tackle if the bond issue is approved are roof repairs and the resurfacing of playing fields since those types of projects draw the quickest return in state aid. School district officials said they expect approximately 40 percent of the project’s cost to be covered by state aid.
The plans for the initial stage of school and playing field renovations will be reviewed by the state education department before the district solicits bid on the work, Ferrie said. If the bond proposition passes, he said, the roof repairs and field resurfacing will be completed by the end of next summer. He said he expects the other parts of the project will begin in 2015.
Ferrie has said the project will take four years to finish, with the bond to be issued in three or four segments, corresponding to different phases of the construction work.
At his presentation in Garden City Park on Tuesday, he said roof repairs would be made to most of the district’s five high schools along with auditorium renovations, installation of air conditioning, replacement of windows, and infrastructure and security upgrades
Athletic field upgrades, representing 10 to 12 percent of the money allocated in the district’s plan, will also be made at all the schools, he said. The athletic field upgrades would include the Installation of synthetic turf , which would permit their use by the community on weekends and in off hours.
Other proposed upgrades include improvements to the cafeteria and gym at Sewanhaka High School, a gym addition at Elmont Memorial High School and an expansion of the auditorium and music rooms at Floral Park Memorial High School.
Ferrie noted that New Hyde Park Memorial High School, H. Frank Carey High School and Elmont were all built in 1955 while Floral Park was built in 1956 and Sewanhaka in 1929.
Sewanhaka school board members said residents’ reactions to the plans have combined an understanding of the need to maintain the school buildings with financial concerns.
“In this day and age, people are expressing concerns about the cost,” said David Fowler, president of the Sewanhaka Board of Education, said last week. “But people are aware of the age of the buildings in the district. And they’re concerned about potential safety hazards.”
Sewanhaka school board Vice President David Del Santo said there was a very evident demographic divide over the bond proposition.
“The folks with younger kids are effusive at having the schools upgraded. Folks on fixed incomes are skeptical,” Del Santo said last week.
But he said even some seniors who’ve sat through concerts without air conditioning in the high school auditoriums or who have seen young athletes injured on the district’s playing fields see the benefit of the proposed improvements.
If the bond proposition fails, Ferrie said, the board will be back to the drawing board.
“They will have a lot of options. But they’ll have to find a way to get capital projects funded,” he said.
