BCSD: School buildings ready for new school year

 Illustration posted by the Bedford Central School District prior to the Aug. 27 school board meeting shows possible alternate plans for the entrance to Fox Lane Middle School. According to Superintendent Robert Glass, a last-minute meeting determined that the alternatives were not needed. (BCSD graphic)

By JEFF MORRIS

The final summer meeting of the Bedford Central Board of Education was held Aug. 27, and included a discussion of progress on the district’s bond construction project.

Superintendent Robert Glass said work is proceeding on schedule and all buildings were ready for this week’s opening.

“For the most part, we’re doing really well,” Glass said regarding the bond construction. “We’ve had some challenges with the pace of the work that’s happening at the front of this building — the middle school,” he said. “But that’s really picked up pace and we’re on track to keep with our original plan.” 

Glass said there had been some concern about a delay on the day prior to the meeting, but those had been resolved and things were moving along.

According to Glass, the construction manager had been thinking ahead and was trying to keep the project on track for the long term, but in so doing it had seemed that they would have to change the plan for the entry to the middle school building.

“There was some thought for a moment that we may have to change the entry plan, and the entry patterns, and do a little minor construction to create a vestibule in a different location,” Glass said. But, he went on, “it turned out today, we met at noon, and walked through it with a large group of all stakeholders involved, and realized that we could stick with the original plan, on schedule. When we get to December, we may have to look at something different, but we’ve got a lot of time to plan for that if that is necessary.” He said their construction manager is “on top of it.”

The construction at Fox Lane High School is completely walled off, said Glass; it is completely taking place behind drywall.

“You really can’t access any of that,” he said, “You wouldn’t even know it’s happening as you go through the student day.” 

Glass said the floors, including in the middle school, “look tremendous — they glisten and they shine, they’ve stripped everything down to the original and it looks great. That’s a long-needed project.”

Glass also noted that there was some cleanup that needed to be done at the high school, where a staging area for large dumpsters containing debris from extensive demolition that had been taking place behind the drywall, was exceeding the footprint that was originally planned. He said the dumpsters were going to come out, and the staging area would shrink by the time school opened.

Other changes on the Fox Lane campus to which Glass called attention were additional parking areas created along the southwest entrance to make up for 38 spaces that were eliminated during construction. He cautioned everyone to be careful when backing out of those spaces, as one would in any parking lot.

Other facilities

Board President Gilian Klein reported on the Facilities Committee meeting, in the absence of Steven Matlin, who is chair of the committee. Completed summer capital projects include the cupola at Mount Kisco Elementary School; tennis courts on the Fox Lane campus; exterior painting and removal of lead at Bedford Village Elementary School; the second boiler at the Fox Lane Middle School gym; and a retaining wall at Bedford Hills Elementary School.

As referenced by Glass earlier, the committee had also discussed a new protocol for refinishing floors, stripping down to bare floor wherever possible, and using five coats of a new wax product.

The committee had also looked at the facilities use fee structure, with the intent of keeping the rate structure simple. They discussed the philosophy for use of the Fox Lane campus, with the goal of keeping it open as much as possible for the community, but making sure there is insurance coverage and they recoup custodial costs. The committee also considered pedestrian walk throughs for the track and baseball fields, locking field 4, and keeping the tennis courts open.