School referendum details outlined

Voters are expected to be asked to approve an addition to Alpine Elementary School and improvements at the four other district schools in a referendum in September.

At the Board of Education meeting Jan. 23, Superintendent Matthew Beck said the Alpine addition is needed because of increasing enrollment there.

The addition would include another gym because the gym there now also is used as a cafeteria and auditorium, he said.

With the added space, there would be separate classrooms for art and music. Now those “specials” are taught in regular classrooms with materials brought in on carts.

The modular buildings no longer would be used as classrooms but they would remain because they could be used for small-group instruction among other purposes, Beck said.

Allen Barnett, principal at Di Cara Rubino Architects, said the Alpine addition would have 10 kindergarten classrooms on the first floor and 10 second-grade classrooms on the second floor.

Also planned are renovations of two of the current kindergarten classrooms and of the bathrooms to make them comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A bus drop-off and parking area would be separate from where parents drive off their children.

Barnett presented some options for what the gym, a kindergarten classroom and other areas could look like. “You’re going to see 20 more versions of this before it’s all said and done.”

Other improvements

At Helen Morgan School, the district plans to upgrade the roof; windows; boilers; heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system; and electrical service.

At Sparta Middle School, there would be HVAC improvements.

At Sparta High School, replacing the chiller and upgrades of classroom HVAC systems and three science labs are proposed.

Beck said the school board is expected to vote on the state Department of Education’s debt service aid proposal in April or May.

The debt service aid, paid by the state, usually is 30 percent to 40 percent of the total cost, Barnett said.

During the summer, information about the referendum would be shared with the public “so they know exactly what they would be voting on,” Beck said.

Early dismissal

Beck described “a very challenging situation” at Mohawk Avenue School, which lost power about 7:40 a.m. because of a blown transformer.

Administrators decided to dismiss the students about three hours later because the school had no power, light, heat and communications and the power was not expected back for several hours.

”I fully understand that this decision and the timing thereof created challenges for parents to receive their children at home or pick them up at school with relatively short notice,” Beck said.

In a review of the situation, “the main takeaway from the situation is that our communication during these incidents needs to be better.”

School board president Kaitlin Gagnon said the board in mid-November was told of a verbal proposal to place four or five cell towers and a cabinet the size of a small refrigerator on school property.

The vendor was permitted to assess the property at no charge.

“As I understand it, the majority if not all board members would not be interested in pursuing a cell-tower initiative,” she said.

The board accepted these retirements:

• Sparta High School music teacher Deborah Gianuzzi, who has worked in the district for 30 years.

• Helen Morgan School instructional intervention literacy teacher Melissa Bandel, also with the district for 30 years.

• Helen Morgan fourth-grade math and science teacher Rachel Hendrickson-Prail, who has been with the district for 26 years.

Natalie Vitone is expected to be hired as a media specialist at Alpine Elementary School at a salary of $65,045.