Engineers Present School Facilities Plan
By Stephanie Mariel Petrellese

Garden City residents will likely have to vote on a bond to fund capital improvements in the next few years, announced School Board President Kenneth Monaghan after listening to a report from an engineering and construction management firm on the school district's capital improvement needs.

The cost of all needed capital improvements totals $34,244,500, according to the five-year capital and facility management plans presented by two representatives from Savin Engineers, P.C. at the October 9th Garden City Board of Education work session.

Monaghan said the Board will carefully review the data and set priorities with members of the community, Central Administration and building principals. Some of the projects will be funded through the budget.

The largest amounts are allocated for the High School ($10,948,000) and Middle School ($10,389,000). Both buildings need additions to accommodate increasing enrollment. Monaghan said it does not come as a surprise to the Board since a demographic study conducted 10 years ago revealed that more space would eventually be needed at the High School. Enrollment has peaked later than originally thought, but at a higher number.

The Middle School exceeded capacity by 45 students in 2006-07 and is projected to exceed capacity by 144 students in five years in 2013-14. At the High School, capacity was exceeded last year by 120 students. Instructional offerings are being limited due to space constraints.

The engineers found that both building principals utilize as much space as possible. At the Middle School, office spaces, closets, wrestling room and a bathroom have been converted into offices and instructional space. John Chardavoyne of Savin Engineers said that the school will also need a new gymnasium to address growing enrollment and program consolidation. The square footage of the current gym does not meet state requirements. He estimated that the school will also need seven additional classrooms.

The High School has no conference room except for the principal's office. Departmental chairs have cited a privacy concern because of the lack of personal office space. Based on long-term enrollment projections, the school will need 11 additional classrooms and one auxiliary gymnasium. One possible short-term solution is to convert 2,400 square feet of the library into three instructional spaces. Monaghan said administrative offices can be relocated to mobile facilities in the parking lot to make room for more classroom space.

The engineers also found a lack of adequate space at Homestead and Locust for services such as resource room, occupational and physical therapy, speech, developmental skills and psychological services. They also do not have space to provide art, music or physical education.

Monaghan acknowledged that the Board chopped a lot of items off the original bond that went before public vote more than a decade ago. For example, the addition of another gym at the Middle School and practice space for the music department at the High School was cut to make the bond amount more palatable to the public.

Besides the space issue, the capital plan presents a dreary look at the district's infrastructure. The average age of the buildings in the district is 57 years. The engineer's report found that most major systems are original, functioning unreliably and/or have ex-ceeded their useful, serviceable life. Some are not functioning at all or as they were designed. Gail Perogine of Savin Engineers said the firm recommends repairing or replacing some or all of the components. Boilers need to be replaced at Hemlock, Homestead, Locust, the Middle School and the High School.

Windows at Hemlock, Homestead and Locust are single-paned and should be replaced. Roofs at the High School, Administration Building and Bus Garage need to be replaced. The roofs at Home-stead and Locust need to be repaired due to ponding and/or leaking. Exterior masonry walls and chimneys are cracked and deteriorated. Ceiling tiles in numerous locations in several buildings need to be replaced due to water damage.

The school district is working to get both the five-year capital plan and facility management plan on the district's Web site, www.gardencity.k12.ny.us/. They could not say exactly when it would be available.