The Herricks School District will save more than $80,000 that was paid to privately contractors to shuttle students to Holy Trinity and Chaminade schools under a new interpretation of state ed- ucation law.
Speaking at last Thursday night’s school board meeting, Herricks Superintendent of Schools John Bierwirth said a change in how the state is interpreting the law regarding bus service means the district will have enough buses to transport students without contracting out for one of them.
“Earlier last month our director of transportation, John Conklin, took a look at our transportation contracts, and realized we can take over the Holy Trinity and Chaminade runs ourselves,” Bierwirth said. “We will also be able to use the extra bus for extra curricular activities, including field trips and summer programs.”
Before the change to the bus ridership law, the district was required to provide a seat for every eligible student within the district, rather than basing the number of seats needed on actual student ridership. Once the change came, and careful study it was determined by Conklin that the district was able to complete all of its runs with one fewer bus.
Addressing a safety issue, the school district will spend up to $85,000 to remedy inadequate water pressure in the fire hydrants at Herricks High School. The board announced it has hired D&B Engineers and Architects, P.C. for the design, construction and inspection of water pipes feeding the hydrants at the Herricks High School.
The cost will not exceed $85,000, according to board officials. The funding will come out of the general funds facilities budget for the 2010-11 school year.
The problem with the Herricks High School fire hydrants was discovered several months ago, when an inspection by the New Hyde Park Fire Department revealed that water pressure being generated by the hydrants was sub-par when more than one hydrant was in use.
“We think this may have been part of an initial flaw from the original design when the school was built in the ‘50s,” Bierwirth stated in a previous meeting.
According to preliminary reports from the engineering firm, the original pipes may have not been wide enough to secure enough pressure when used together. The company will replace the existing pipes with larger ones that will provide the proper water pressure.
“We’re trying to figure out the closest location to the school to begin construction for this project,” Bierwirth said. “The closer we start construc- tion, the less money it will cost because we are going to be tearing up concrete to get this done.”
Bierwirth said the pipe replacement should be completed by the start of the next school year.
On another infrastructure front, the Denton Avenue School Parents Teacher Asso- ciation presented a $30,000 donation to the Herricks Board of Education at the meeting, which will go towards the con- struction of a new playground at the school.
Denton Avenue PTA co-president Debbie Imperatore said the PTA had raised funds for two years to replace out- dated playground equipment.
“We wanted something that would promote creative play and physical fitness,” Imperatore said. “We came up with a pirate ship and tree house design.”
The new playground will
Deirdre Hayes. “The installation process takes four to five weeks,” Hayes said. Hayes said that the construction process will not interfere with the summer rec- reation program at the Denton Avenue School, and asked the residents for their cooperation and understanding during the construction process. She also thanked the PTA members who contributed for the project.
“Sometimes it takes a whole village to do this,” Hayes said.
