Bellmore-Merrick Central District off to ‘a great start’

By all accounts by Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District principals, opening day of school on Sept. 1 went off without a hitch.

“It was like a scene from a Disney movie,” said Taryn Johnson, who is now in her second year as principal of Merrick Avenue Middle School, during the Sept. 2 Central District Board of Education meeting. “It was nothing less than perfect. The kids were energetic and lively. The comfort level was way high. It’s been a great start to the year.”

Mepham High School Principal Michael Harrington said, “We got off to a great start. There was a momentum and excitement. This district is moving in a great direction.”

Central officials, however, said they had hoped that a major face-lift of district facilities, including new bathrooms and science labs, would have been further along than it is. Superintendent John DeTommaso said a backlog of construction permit applications at the State Education Department held up the district’s revamp plans. And so, phase two of the three-year, $49.89 million project, scheduled to take place over this summer, did not happen, only regularly scheduled building maintenance.

The project’s first phase –– installation of new artificial-turf football fields and gym floors and asbestos abatement work –– was completed in the summer of 2014. Those projects came first, DeTommaso had said in the past, because they did not involve interior plumbing and electrical work, which requires strict education department approval.

The Central District submitted plans for new bathrooms and science labs well in advance of this summer, but approval for those plans did not come through until the beginning of June, which did not give Central officials adequate time to assemble bid proposals and put the projects out to bid, according to the superintendent.

DeTommaso said last Wednesday that the district would redo bathrooms at Grand Avenue Middle School and Mepham High School this fall. Remaining phase two work, however, would have to wait until next summer, as most construction projects cannot take place while students are in the buildings.