Southold school district taxpayers go to the polls tomorrow to vote on a $7,765,750 bond referendum to fund a capital improvement program aimed at upgrading, updating and enhancing school facilities for the district’s 820 students.
The total project cost of $9,765,750 will be offset by the expenditure of $2 million from the district’s capital reserve fund.
The proposed improvement program consists of:
- technology lab upgrade
- construction of a new library media center
- television studio upgrade
- computer labs reconfiguration and upgrade
- ROTC classroom refurbishment
- art room and photo studio upgrades
- cafeteria renovation and creation of an outdoor dining area
- flexible learning spaces construction at the elementery school
- security upgrades (universal lock system, door locks, cameras and technology)
- parking lot reconstruction and lighting upgrades
- exterior fascia reconstruction
- synthetic turf multisport field and six lane track construction
Because the new bonding will not go on the books until after the district’s current outstanding bond (which was borrowing to construct the elementary school in 1998) is retired in 2018, the annual debt service cost to district taxpayers will actually be reduced $70 per year, from the current
$204 per household to $130 per household, Gamberg said.
The new bond will be paid back in 15 years.
Superintendent of Schools David Gamberg took interested residents on tours of the the secondary and elementary school buildings last week to highlight aspects of the proposed work and explain why the project is needed.
“We’re not adding new wings. We’re making things better and bringing our facilities into the 21st century,” he said. The original school building dates back to 1923. An addition was build in 1937 and another in 1962. The elementary school was built in 1998.
Highlights of the capital improvement program
The library/media center will be moved to the main floor where it will occupy about half of the space currently housing the technology department, which is oversized and outmoded for current applications.
Also slated for an upgrade is the secondary school’s television studio, where more than two dozen students learn video recording and production skills and produce a newscast for the school community. sohotvnews.com
Gamberg is excited about what’s going on with video instruction in Southold.
“The kids are flying,” he said. “These are such important skills to learn in the digital era.”
The TV/media room will move upstairs to the library’s current quarters, where it will have a larger space that can be better adapted to its needs.
Renovations to the cafeteria will include a new drop ceiling that will cover exposed pipes and updating the dining areas. An pergola outside the cafeteria’s exterior door will be built to create an outdoor dining area.
The ROTC classroom will be refurbished and modernized.
Also on the agenda for an upgrade are the district’s computer labs, which were built in a time before laptops and tablets. The labs will be reorganized and the outdated desktop computers will be removed. The new settings will provide space for students to work on their Chrome Books — each student in the district, from 4th through 11th grade, is issued one of the small laptops.
Flexible learning spaces will be built in the elementary school to accommodate new teaching methods in a modern learning environment. The district is taking apart a number of existing classrooms to create the new spaces, the superintendent said.
One of the bigger items on the improvement list is the construction of a six-lane track and multisport synthetic turf field. It will be located where the existing varsity soccer field is. Its base will be made of organic matter — coconut shells — not rubber, Gamberg noted. Rubber-based synthetic turf fields gave rise to health concerns due to the potential for toxic build-up under the turf surface.
Overall safety and security upgrades will enhance both buildings, Gamberg said. A new universal lock system, security cameras, improved lighting and parking lot reconfiguration to improve traffic flow are all part of the district’s plans.
“I wish we had 500 people on the tour so people would really understand what we’re talking about,” Gamberg said. Unfortunately only a dozen people have taken advantage of his invitation for a personal tour.
The district made a video to provide a virtual tour, narrated by Gamberg, of the improvements purposed. Watch below.
“We want to provide a dynamic learning experience for the children of our community,” Gamberg said. “That enhances the value of the community — and it doesn’t bust the budget.”
Voting will take place tomorrow, Dec. 8, from 3 to 9 p.m. in the junior-senior high school gym.
For more information, including a fact sheet and the full presentation, see the district website.
