Science labs and auditoriums would be renovated and athletic fields redesigned so more sports can be played on district grounds. Air-conditioning units would be added to common space areas in each of the district's seven schools.
District Superintendent Kathleen Mooney said the changes are necessary as more students enter the district. Demographers have estimated enrollment to rise by 4.6 percent by the 2019-20 school year.
"It's really important to upgrade our facilities and make sure they are ready for 21st-century learning," Mooney said.
District officials want to remove "portable" classrooms, or stand-alone structures that are unconnected to the rest of building. Five district schools use the portables, Mooney said. "If they are not permanently attached to the building, from a security point of view, that's not always the safest."
Karen Sloan, school board president, said science labs were built in the 1960s and '70s and that the auditoriums are "run down."
School officials project the bond would cost the average district homeowner $106 a year, from 2015 to 2023. The bond would not affect taxes after 2023, when a 2001 construction bond will be fully paid.
In January, voters in the West Babylon and Shoreham-Wading River school districts approved a total of $60 million in facility reconstruction bonds. Manhasset residents in December approved a $20 million bond for facilityupgrades, including to the science labs and cafeteria.
Voters in the Plainview-Old Bethpage district narrowly approved a $50 million bond in December, funding improvements to the school's security, technology, and other infrastructure.The March 10 vote in Port Washington is to be held from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School at 52 Campus Dr.
School officials said they expect the work to be finished within seven years and that state building aid would cover 18.5 percent of the cost.
©2015 Newsday
