East Meadow’s schools could be expanding

Construction costs now are very high and that has to do with a lot of factors related to the Covid supply chain.”

Patrick Pizzo, Assistant Superintendent, EMCSD

The East Meadow Board of Education discussed expansion plans at their meeting on Wednesday. Basing their need for expansion on an enrollment report from last month’s meeting, the board has decided to be proactive and consider creating a larger space. Patrick Pizzo, the district’s assistant superintendent for business and finance gave the presentation.

There were three different options presented to the board, ranging from the most expansive to the least, and the cost of each option. All of the options were considered to handle a predicted future population growth in the district.

The enrollment study was done in 2017 by Western Suffolk BOCES, which included a five-year analysis. Superintendent Kenneth Card said has been completed.

The analysis was performed by utilizing records from the Town of Huntington and the County of Nassau to determine what the birth rates were. Housing statistics and real estate information were also used to make determinations in terms of growth of the population in the East Meadow School District.

“Some of the predictions have come to pass,” Card said. “And in certain schools, we have exceeded those predictions that has brought us this point where we are presenting the board with options that might be available to them in the not too distant future, should they decide to address the facility concerns in the district.”

Another reason why the district is feeling the need for expansion is because of the 180 student pre-kindergarten program that they implemented in May.

The first option would include three classrooms being added to each of the five elementary schools. This was the most extensive expansion plan.

“Construction costs now are very high and that has to do with a lot of factors related to the Covid supply chain,” Pizzo said. “One thing I’ve noticed throughout my career, prices go up, they plateau but they don’t go down.”

Pizzo listed the buildings in order of which building he thought would need the highest priority.  The two schools that have the greatest need are McVey and Bowling Green, which was decided utilizing the growth population data, Pizzo said.

“McVey has been on our radar for a while,” Board member Eileen Napolitano said. “We know that that’s a school that definitely needs some attention. The population seems to be increasing pretty fast.”

Even though the construction for each school would identical, the prices varied, depending on  the building.

“Every elementary school is a little bit different,” Pizzo said. “So, the numbers aren’t going to be identical, although what’s being provided will be identical.”

The expansion prices per elementary school ranged from $4.8 to $6.6 million dollars, with Parkway Elementary Schools construction being the cheapest and Bowling Greens the most expensive. The total cost for this project would be $28.7 million.

The second option included expansion of the Salisbury Center, where the administration offices currently are located. This plan would include 12 pre-kindergarten rooms, two classrooms and two resource rooms that could be used for various uses, Pizzo said. But if this option were chosen, the administration rooms would have to be relocated.

The total projected cost for plan two would be $18.2 million.

The third plan is a two-pronged short-term approach. This would entail using the back of the Salisbury Center as a daycare center freeing up the area at Bowling Green that is currently being used for that purpose. The work for this option would cost $220,000.

The second part of that approach would be a two classroom portable building at McVey. This would total roughly $1.5 million.

“There are many concerns about portable buildings,” Pizzo said. “...They tend to stay awhile.”

Even though the third option is the cheapest, at $1.7 million, it may not be the best option. Pizzo said prices are rapidly rising for portable classrooms and the project wouldn’t be completed faster than the other options.

“You really only save a couple of months of the actual building because you still have to go through the normal process,” he explained. “We did want to look at every option.

In terms of funding, Pizzo explained that Building Aid from the state will only be available if the district can prove the need for expansion. In order to get the permit for these conversion plans, floor plans would be needed of each elementary school showing every existing classroom.

The New York State Education Department would also require a long-range plan that would indicate five years of projected enrollment. Additionally, the regional special education director would have to sign-off on all existing and proposed special education usage in all buildings.

“Part of the reason why you do an enrollment study is that you need that information to supply to the state to be able to claim it,” Pizzo explained.

Card stressed that although population growth and expansion was being discussed it did not mean that current classrooms are overcrowded.