Board of Ed fine-tunes school referendum
Voters will decide on $10.9M in renovations next spring
BY LAYLI WHYTE
Staff Writer

FAIR HAVEN — The Board of Education is well on its way to completing the preliminary work for a referendum that will ask voters to approve $10.9 million in additions and improvements to both Knollwood and Sickles schools.

Renovations would include a 7,000-square-foot addition to Knollwood Middle School on Hance Avenue. Renovations at Viola L. Sickles School on Willow Street would be more limited until the question of where to place a needed addition is explored.

Last week, the board held two meetings to discuss the referendum, the first on Monday to finalize what it will ask for, and the second on Tuesday, which was open to the public.

The state is expected to cover 40 percent of the estimated $10.9 million in renovations, school officials said. Taxpayers will vote on the referendum on March 8. If the referendum is passed, the work on the schools is expected to begin by the summer of 2006, according to district business administrator, Valery Petrone.

Knollwood School would receive the most extensive renovation, including a 7,000-square-foot addition to the circa 1950s wing of the 68,700-square-foot abuilding. The school sits on approximately 3 acres.

The new addition would have two levels housing two large classrooms on each floor that would be capable of being divided into smaller spaces when needed.

“A classroom that was reasonable 10 years ago is not any more,” said board member Margaret Graf.

A new health room would be housed on the first level, which would also have an additional classroom. The first floor would also provide badly needed storage space. Currently, closets in both the boys and girls bathrooms are being used for storage.

“Having storage in the bathrooms is a fire hazard,” said Wright. “It’s a life safety issue.”

The second floor would have two classrooms and one small group instructional classroom.

The Child Study Team office would also be on the second level and would have space for five offices: two small conference rooms, a small reception area, an open work area, and storage, if the referendum is passed.

A new elevator would be installed in the new wing to provide greater accessibility to students with disabilities.

Every bathroom in Sickles, and all but the newest bathrooms in Knollwood are due to be renovated, and in some cases, completely rebuilt.

Some of the windows and assorted exterior doors at both schools would be replaced.

“The teachers on the second floor [at Knollwood] must have the custodians open and close their windows,” explained Petrone.

The board has grappled with the problem of adding on to grades K-3 at Sickles because of safety concerns.

Sickles sits on approximately 1 acre and is about 34,500 square feet.

“The board decided to place an addition at Sickles on hold,” said Petrone. “The architects did confirm that an addition could be placed on the site, but that it would come very close to the street. This could pose a safety issue.”

The board has been discussing the possibility of purchasing neighboring land in order to get the space needed for an addition, but no action has been taken at this time.

On Oct. 19, a public meeting was held at Knollwood to discuss the referendum with the people who will be voting on it.

A presentation showed the overall scope of the project, and there was a question and answer period. There was also a tour of the school so that taxpayers could see for themselves what needs to be done at Knollwood.

A similar meeting is planned for January at Sickles school.

The referendum will have a second question for voters concerning air conditioning for all of the classrooms.

All of the newly built classrooms will have air conditioning, but the board was concerned that voters might not see this as necessary. It was decided, therefore, to put approval for the air-conditioning in a separate question, rather than risk defeat of the entire referendum.