Board of Ed Approves Upgraded Roof For Park View Elementary

Park View Elementary School will receive an upgraded roof to replace the one that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

The Kings Park Board of Education was tasked Tuesday night with choosing between a roof with a 20-year warranty or upgrading to one with a thicker membrane (a synthetic rubber used to prevent leaks), a 30-year warranty and an increased cost.

A temporary roof was put on the building Nov. 1 and students have been relocated to classrooms at the San Remo administration building and RJO Intermediate.

The majority of the roof replacement, which is estimated at about $ 1 million, is covered by insurance, with no outlay of money by the district. The Kings Park Board of Education voted unanimously to upgrade the roof at a cost of $81,675, which is not covered and would be paid for by the district.

The money for the upgrade comes from the fund balance.

“We have money in our fund balance that we will not be using,” said district superintendent, Susan Agruso. 

Costs of tax anticipation notes, which are loans used to pay for payroll until tax revenues are received in December have had lower interest rates, resulting in additional money for the district.

“The cost of that loan is less due to lower interest rates. So there is some funding there,” said Agruso.

Board president, Marie Goldstein, requested that an inquiry be made to see if the district is eligible for a state aid reimbursement, which potentially could cover 37 percent of the cost of the upgrade.

“We have an opportunity to put up a better product at a fraction of the cost due to the hurricane,” said board member Tom Locascio.

A representative from the school’s engineer firm H2M recommended going with the 20-year roof, which he thought was adequate and would not result in an outlay of money by the district.

Overall, the board thought it wise to go with a better roof, with more longevity, The roof at RJO was recently replaced and would likely be at the end of its lifetime at the same time as Park View if a 20-year roof were chosen.

“I think it important to go with the 30-year warranty and I would be in favor of spending the money to get the extra ten years,” said board member Charlie Leo.

A look at storm damage to other schools in the district:

Kings Park High School

• Soccer fence- being repaired
• Soccer score board- being repaired
• Roof leaks- being investigated

William T. Rogers

• Sign- being replaced
• Tennis court fence- repaired
• Downed light post- removed, will be replaced

RJO Intermediate

• Flashing on cupola- removed

Fort Salonga

• Downed trees