In Budget Preview, BOE Hears $1.2 Million Plan for School Repairs

Tuesday night's Parsippany Board of Education meeting at Parsippany Hills High School kicked off 2013-14 budget discussions with the presentation of a proposed $1.2 million district spending plan for school facility repairs. 

The proposed cost breakdown was reported as follows:

Superintendent of Schools LeRoy Seitz advised the board to ignore the $300,000 cost for long-term track replacement. Instead he urged the board to employ short-term fixes to repair the high school tracks for the year, at a cost of $3,300 for Parsippany High and $3,500 for Parsippany Hills.

As for the total projected cost, $1.2 million, Seitz said there was no getting around it.

"That is the absolute minimum amount a district this size should have in the budget," he said.

District Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Thomas Gaveglio presented the board with a presentation listing the projects that have kept his staff of 25 occupied in the present school year.

Building projects so far have included:

Lake Parsippany School

• repairs to concrete
• repairs to electric, fire alarm and public address systems
• gym walls cleaned and repainted
• new gym floor installed

Central Middle School

• new hot water heater installed
• termite removal and structural repair beneath auditorium stage

Lake Hiawatha School

• classroom ceiling and lighting complete,
• installation of acoustical ceiling
• server room drop ceiling installation and reinstallation of air conditioning system
• roof completed
• ceiling insulated, sheetrocked walls painted

Parsippany High School

• old sign removed, new sign installed
• Parsippany Hills High School
• new sign installed but awaiting electrical hookup
• auditorium stage floor sanded and repainted
• path repair moving forward 

Knollwood School 

• gym floor water damage repaired
• new drainage and landscaping put in place to stop "water intrusion issue"
• sinks and vanities being replaced 

"Recognize that [district crews] work on a limited budget and the needs of the schools are great," Seitz said. "We are doing a lot at Lake Hiawatha School (which suffered roof and classroom damage during Superstorm Sandy) and other projects."

The superintendent praised Gaveglio and his staff.

"They do a remarkable job."

More discussion on the proposed capital outlay and the rest of the 2013-14 spending plan will take place Tuesday, March 5, at a special budget hearing at the BOE administration building at 292 Parsippany Road. The meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., is open to the public.