Capital project work progressing: Baer

Bill Whelan

Port Washington School District officials said at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting that work on the district’s capital improvement projects is on track for completion before the start of the school year in September.

“All of the projects are moving along on time,” said Trustee Alan Baer, who is also the district’s budget and facilities committee chair.

Baer said “the initial indiction” is that all roofing work will be completed on time, aside from minor brickwork, which will be completed during non-school hours and on weekends.

Baer said that before the committee’s last meeting on July 30, the group took a tour of the building at Weber Middle School to check out the work on the roof, where the pitched and flat sections are being removed. 

He also said that work on the roof over the wrestling room of Schreiber High School has been finished and workers are moving on to a larger section of the building’s roof. Work is also underway on replacing sections of roof on Sousa and Guggenheim Elementary Schools, according to Baer.

“We are on budget and within the realm of our allowances,” said Baer.

Baer said that field usage was also a topic of discussion at the budget and facilities meeting, during which it discussed fundraising options for athletic field improvements, including endowments, sponsorship signs, and a matching funds program. 

The committee discussed options for field improvement projects, such as turfing on the entire Guggenheim field, turfing the field behind Schreiber, work on lights and bleachers at Whitney Field and enlarging Guggenheim field by taking area from the woods, Baer said.

Superintendent of Schools Kathleen Mooney said in her brief superintendent’s report that “We haven’t really slowed down too much,” adding that the district’s Smart Board initiative is moving forward and the interactive learning tool will be used in elementary and middle schools by the start of the school year.

Board President Karen Sloan also announced that Julia Brandt, a science teacher at Schreiber, received the Harold W. Pote Behind Every Graduate award from Drexel University. 

In an e-mail, Schreiber principal Ira Pernick said that Brandt was nominated by a former student and that Brandt attended the Drexel graduation ceremony where she received her award. The board also accepted $2,000 from Drexel Univeristy in honor of Brandt.

“Ms. Brandt is a dedicated and passionate educator who is well known for establishing strong relationships with her students. Her environmental science class is always well populated and exciting,” Pernick said.

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