Mineola ed board OKs referendum

Richard Tedesco

The Mineola Board of Education approved a Nov. 15 referendum at its workshop meeting last Thursday night on a proposal to spend up to $3.8 million from the school district’s capital reserve fund for repairs to district school buildings.

The districtwide referendum will carry a second proposition for district voters to enlarge the capital reserve fund to as much as $15 million.

“Every single one of our elementary schools needs new windows and doors,” said Mineola Superintendent of Schools Michael Nagler.

During a presentation at the workshop meeting, Nagler said masonry on all seven district school buildings is in “horrible” condition. 

Those buildings include the former Cross Street School in Williston Park currently being leased to the Solomon Schechter Day School.

Nagler said the major items requiring immediate attention are replacement of windows and doors and bricking pointing, and installation of new unit ventilators to allow the installation of air conditioning at the Jackson Avenue, Hampton Street, Meadow Drive, and Cross Street schools, and a new boiler at Mineola High School.

In his presentation, Nagler showed pictures of window lintels rusting, potentially compromising the support for bricks above them. He also showed cracked bricks which would need to be replaced.

If the $3.8 million capital reserve expenditure for building repairs is approved by district voters, Nagler said the state Department of Education would be required to review the plan – a process that he estimated would take six months. 

The board would then need to issue requests for proposals.

“Any way we look at it, we’re going to miss next summer for windows and doors,” he said.

Nagler said he thinks the replacement of windows and doors could be done in the fall and winter of 2014.

“This isn’t glamorous stuff like new libraries, but it’s important,” said school board President Artie Barnett. “We have to seal these buildings up. It’s a lot of money, but this capital reserve is the way to go.”

Nagler said the capital reserve fund currently contains $5 million. Approval of the second ballot proposition to increase the fund ceiling to $15 million would enable the board to earmark money for future district capital projects.

“It would always be related to infrastructure needs or installation of a turf field,” Nagler said.

He said he planned to attend PTA meetings prior to the Nov. 15 vote to make presentations on the referendum propositions.

In other developments:

• In response to a question from board Trustee Nicole Matzer about insurance coverage for iPads the district has issued to students in grade schools, Nagler said the iPads are covered if lost or damaged. 

But, he said, parents who sign releases permitting students to take the iPads home are responsible for the insurance deductibles if the machines are lost, stolen or damaged.

He said the school district had purchased outer boxes to protect the latest iPads issued to students.  

• The board continued Thursday night’s workshop in executive session to discuss contract negotiations with the school district’s teachers aides and clerical workers, who have been working without contracts since their prior deals expired in 2009.

Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.

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