Woods Road roof, HHS heating and other projects will be completed despite voters’ rejection of referendum.
By: Donna Lukiw
Woods Road Elementary School will get a new roof before the next school year begins, even though voters rejected the September referendum that included the roof work and other school maintenance projects.
In addition to the reroofing project, three other school maintenance projects were approved by board members during Monday’s Board of Education meeting.
Replacing the HVAC control system at the high school, repaving the driveway and parking lot at Triangle Elementary School and resurfacing the tennis courts at Amsterdam Elementary School are all planned to be completed prior to the 2006-2007 school year.
Since there is no state funding left, Assistant Superintendent of Business Tom Venanzi said these projects will be included in the 2006-2007 regular school budget.
"If the items are not approved then we will continue to have the same issues," Mr. Venanzi said. "Three of the projects were part of the referendum."
Mr. Venanzi said the replacement of the HVAC system will cost $370,000, which will be included in the 2006-07 budget.
"We’ve been having ventilation issues," Mr. Venanzi said. "We’ve been experiencing difficulties with the control system. We want climate control for the building so it’s more comfortable."
Repaving the driveway and parking lot is planned for Triangle Elementary School at $63,000. The project was also included in the defeated referendum.
"There are a number of potholes and cracks throughout the driveway and parking lot," Mr. Venanzi said. "It was repaved over 15 years ago and needs it again."
Since the roof at Woods Road Elementary School is in dire need of repair, the reroofing of the school will also be included in the 2006-07 regular school budget.
"When we have rainstorms, we’ve had large leaks and water come in the hallway," Woods Road School Principal Scott Rocco said. "We’ve patched it up but sometimes that doesn’t work. It can cause mold and sickness in the building."
The reroofing is expected to cost $846,000.
While resurfacing the tennis courts Amsterdam Elementary School was not included in the September referendum, Mr. Venanzi said, there has been a lot of community concern over the condition of the tennis courts.
"They asked us to consider to resurface the courts and we did," Mr. Venanzi said. "The community gets a lot of use out of it."
The tennis courts are expected to cost $55,000.
Mr. Venanzi said since the projects have already been approved by board members they now need to be approved by the state before they can begin.
"Our goal is to have the projects completed before the school year begins," Mr. Venanzi said. "We had to get a jump on it now so we could begin the projects."