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Tenafly superintendent outlines referendum construction timeline: security vestibules, ventilators, roofing and summer closures
Summary
Superintendent Steven told the board that construction tied to the district's referendum will begin this summer, with security vestibule designs, unit ventilator bids at the high school, roofing and locker-room work planned across buildings; some schools will be closed to summer programs because of invasive work.
Superintendent Steven on Thursday presented a detailed update on construction tied to the district27s referendum, saying the district expects to break ground on the first projects in June and that several building upgrades will take place this summer and next school year.
"We will be breaking ground on the first project in June, or even a little before that," Steven said. He told trustees that security vestibule projects have been turned over to architects and are slated for construction this summer, and that the district has targeted late 2025 for contract awards on four elementary schools and the middle school. At Tenafly High School, Steven said a major unit-ventilator replacement project is in final development and is expected to be put out to bid this month, with award anticipated on March 17.
Steven outlined multiple concurrent hubs of work: the high school, the middle school and Stillman. Planned high-school work includes unit ventilators, main gym updates (bleachers, wall mats and curtains) already under contract and interior painting by district staff. Athletic-field planning will begin with new tennis courts, he said; locker-room additions and designs are underway. Ceiling-replacement and roof work are paired at the middle school and elsewhere.
At the elementary level, the district plans ceiling and hallway flooring work this summer and said it will award a contract for a Stillman elevator at the meeting. "We slipped this meeting back from Monday to Thursday to meet the bid schedule," Steven said, and the district expects that elevator work to be online in fall 2025. The district is also developing Smith School drainage repairs and a Maum boiler project and expects to complete storm-repair work at Smith by the start of next school year.
Steven warned that summer programming will be limited. "TMS and Stillman are completely offline," he said, noting that invasive work requires vacating those buildings. The high school will have limited space for summer enrichment (about 18 classrooms not impacted by the ventilator project) and Maum will house ESY. McKay and Smith are being kept available as needed so buildings can be turned back for fall start dates.
Trustees asked clarifying questions about timelines and sequencing; Steven said the district is trying to move up the middle-school contract to aim for a 2026-27 school-year start and that unit-ventilator work for the middle school would begin in May 2026, coordinated with steam-pipe and electrical upgrades.
The superintendent closed by noting ongoing work to coordinate bids for additions and that most referendum construction should be completed within the planned timeline, barring unforeseen delays.
No formal vote or contract awards were recorded in the public transcript during the update section; the superintendent described planned and in-progress procurement actions and said some contracts (for gym updates and other work) already had contracts approved.
