Mount Sinai UFSD outlines $3 million projects, security upgrades and energy plan ahead of Sept. 25 bond vote
Loading...
Summary
The Mount Sinai Union Free School District superintendent detailed completed and planned capital projects — including a $3 million athletic and security package, door swipe lockdown systems and a state-backed energy performance project using LEDs, building management controls and solar — and announced a town hall Sept. 10 and bond vote Sept. 25.
Dr. Cristioni, the district superintendent, opened the board’s August meeting by presenting a draft update to the district’s code of conduct and reviewing this summer’s capital work and planned bond projects ahead of a September referendum.
The draft code of conduct is posted for 30 days for public review, Dr. Cristioni said. He described the draft as “a modern version of a code of conduct,” emphasizing language that focuses on expectations rather than punishment.
The superintendent summarized completed work funded through a 2024 approval of $3,000,000 and projects the board is proposing to include in a 2025 bond referendum. Completed items include the baseball and softball infields, new scoreboards and replaced exterior and interior doors. The district has also installed a new door-access system that uses swipe credentials and can lock down buildings centrally. Dr. Cristioni said prerecorded public-address messages and remote administrator access have been integrated into the PA system to improve emergency communications.
Dr. Cristioni said the district is advancing an energy performance contract intended to produce utility savings without direct cost to taxpayers. “These are energy improvements that will cost the district nothing — the taxpayers nothing,” he said. Planned measures include converting lighting to LEDs, integrating a building management system to better control heating and cooling, and installing solar panels at the high school, middle school and elementary school. The district has submitted paperwork to the state to proceed with the work.
Other planned items the superintendent described for the bond package include resurfacing roadways and parking lots, replacing the elementary school roof, renovating student bathrooms at the elementary and middle schools, auditorium seat and floor work at the high school, portions of a middle-school roof and playground replacements. The elementary school rear modular wing will receive siding, windows and door repairs; windows have a long lead time and the district is targeting completion of that work by December.
Board members and staff also addressed operational details tied to the upgrades — phone-system replacements are on hold until September because of number-porting logistics, and the district intends to funnel after-hours visitors to a single monitored entrance using the new swipe system.
During public comment, resident William Jamelo asked about building entrances and vocational training opportunities. “I was kind of curious what we're doing about the entrances again,” Jamelo said, and asked whether the district provides hands-on vocational programs outside BOCES. Dr. Cristioni and board members replied that the district maintains armed guards on campus and staff at the front gate during the day, that doors and swipes will allow better control for after-school access, and that the district offers in-house technology and woodshop programs while also sending students to BOCES for extended vocational programs.
The board encouraged residents to attend a district town hall on the bond at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 10, and noted the bond vote is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 25, at the high school from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The superintendent also listed upcoming school events: superintendent’s conference day, the first day of school on Tuesday, Sept. 2, back-to-school nights in mid-to-late September, and the next Board of Education meeting on Sept. 17.
The board did not adopt the code of conduct at the meeting; Dr. Cristioni characterized the posted document as a draft available for the statutorily required public review period and invited questions via district contacts.
