The worn and cracked stadium wood-bench seats and landings pose safety hazards to those attending athletic events and do not meet the “open-riser area” standard now in place. This is part four of a series of articles submitted by the Garden City School District examining the proposed bond work at each of the district’s buildings.

Garden City High School and Bus Garage

When it rains, it floods at Garden City High School. The often-patched roof leaks water throughout the school, causing ongoing damage to ceilings and flooring, and creating hazardous conditions for students, staff and community members. The replacement of the roof, which was not included in the 1997 bond, is one of the health and safety issues that the Garden City School District will fix with allocations from the proposed $36.5 million School Investment Bond referendum.

Drainage problems are evident on the high school roof, where standing pools of water regularly collect. Each of the district’s nine buildings will be impacted by the bond, which is scheduled for vote by Garden City residents on Tuesday, October 27th. If approved, at its peak in 2014-2015, the bond will cost the average assessed homeowner 71 cents per day or $261 a year.

Through the years, the Garden City School District has maintained its buildings using annual capital funds; however, the scope of the proposed projects far exceeds the district’s annual capital fund allocation. The high school roof alone is more than double the amount provided for capital repairs in any given year. The comprehensive bond proposal, which addresses only the district’s most pressing needs, has been reviewed, revised and recommended by a Facilities Committee that included community members who have worked tirelessly during the past two years to put forth the most conservative and cost-effective plan.

At the district’s bus garage, the 60-year-old boiler needs to be replaced. Built in 1953, the high school also needs structural repairs to damaged exterior brick piers as well as more than 20 vertical cracks in the upper gym walls. Sections of ceiling, lighting and plumbing are slated to be replaced, and stairways would be enclosed to meet safety codes requiring separate first- and second-floor fire areas. Additionally, the stadium bleachers are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. “The open wood risers pose potential safety hazards,” said Dr. Robert Feirsen, Superintendent of Schools. “During a recent sporting event, I had to turn away a community member who uses a walker because I didn’t feel he could safely navigate the bleachers the way they are now.

More than 20 cracks in the gymnasium walls pose a threat to the integrity of the existing gymnasium structure. “It was difficult to do because we want everyone in Garden City to feel welcome,” he continued. “In addition to attending sporting events, thousands of residents participate each year in adult and community education programs, and dozens of organizations use the buildings and grounds regularly for programs and events. The district wants to ensure that all residents, including those in wheelchairs or with other special needs, are able to participate.”

The bond also calls for changes to reclaim valuable learning space at the high school, allowing the district to maintain small class sizes, grow its academic programs, and provide students with broader experiences that will enable them to compete for admission to the best colleges with pupils from other school districts on Long Island and other communities in New York State and throughout the country.

Exterior brick piers and steel columns supporting the east and west canopies are in need of repair and refinishing. “With the addition of more space for music, we address our educational program needs,” commented Principal Nanine Cuttitta. “The changes would also allow us to improve student learning and school operations in almost every department of the high school. The internal improvements would result from repurposing existing music rooms, storage and office space, as well as reconfiguring space in the library. This also includes greater flexibility with our auditorium, which is currently used daily as a music classroom.”

The bus garage’s modular office trailer is splitting in two and has holes in the floor. Examples of the internal improvements include:

* Currently the speech room, reading room and psychologist’s office are connected. Students cannot reach a speech or reading room directly from a hallway entrance. With these improvements, each would be in a separate room with a separate entrance.

* With all music classes in a separate location, the auditorium will be available for assemblies or other school programs during the school day. The auditorium is currently used as a music classroom and band room throughout the day.

* The library is closed for two weeks in May during the administration of Advanced Placement exams. The district hopes to utilize the new classrooms, which will have flexible partition walls that can be reconfigured, as testing rooms for AP exam administration.

“We hope to increase the use of the library and improve traffic into the library throughout the year,” stated Cuttitta. “Right now library traffic is limited during the fall play, spring musical and Advanced Placement exams. The library is used as a band classroom for a good number of weeks surrounding the fall play and the spring musical. Both of those time periods require the stage of the auditorium to be used for set building and play rehearsals. With the new space, music classes would have no interruption and noise would be confined.”

In addition to the schools, the bond referendum proposal calls for upgrades to the district’s bus garage. Its 60-year-old boiler and the vehicular exhaust ventilation system need to be replaced, as does the modular office building, which is splitting in two and has holes in the floor.

Check the district’s Web site, www.gardencity.k12.ny.us , for detailed information about the School Investment Bond’s impact on the high school, the bus garage and the district’s other buildings. Additional presentations and photo displays of the proposed work will be available at various district events until the bond vote on October 27th.