With the 2012 budget season in the books, the Levittown Union Free School district turned its attention to other matters during a planning session at the Levittown Memorial Education Center Wednesday night.
The board viewed a presentation from Lucchesi Engineering detailing possible building improvements for schools throughout the district.
The engineering company spent the last few months studying health, safety and welfare issues of all district buildings. In addition to a PowerPoint presentation, each board member received a large booklet detailing the company’s findings.
Lucchesi representatives believe that the findings constitute the ingredients for a five-year building plan.
According to Lucchesi representative Michael Mark, the three most pressing needs for the district are masonry improvements at the Memorial Education Center, masonry improvements at Jonas E. Salk Elementary School and chimney improvements at Summit Lane Elementary School.
Mark said roofing issues also exist throughout the district, specifically over the library at Division Avenue High School.
“The problem with your roofs, and it’s pretty typical in every building, is your roofing material is fine [but] the flashings and the terminations at the perimeter are awful,” Mark said. “They allow water to get under the roof at the edges, which is causing a lot of damage.”
With a host of material in front of them, concern permeated throughout the board. Main concerns dealt with long term costs and the feasibility of getting large construction projects approved in the the current economic climate. Completing projects of this nature usually requires voter approval, according to the board.
The outlined projects would cost an estimated $30 million, according to the presentation.
“Even if the money was broken up by years, we may have a different outcome than the 65 percent approval [we had this year],” Board President Michael Pappas said.
The board requested that Lucchesi Engineering return at a later date with a prioritized list, based on safety, of which specific improvements should be focused on before any further discussion on the matter is conducted.
Prior to the presentation, the board recognized three members of its transportation staff.
On May 1, Driver James Poccia and Attendant Rosemary Kallas were involved in an accident. Poccia’s bus was damaged after it was rear-ended by another driver on the LIE, just east of Utopia Parkway, according to Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Mark Flower.
The students on the bus attended the Richmond School for Language and the Lexington School for the Deaf. Poccia and Kallas, on their own accord, had previously taken sign language classes. Because of this training, the two were able to act as interpreters between emergency responders and the students.
Safety Coordinator Cathy Rust was instrumental in returning the damaged bus to Levittown. She traveled to Brooklyn and used her own credit card to remove the bus from the impound lot. The district has since reimbursed her.
“We would not have been able to get the bus back that day if not for Cathy stepping up,” Flower said.
