Connetquot board hears summer facilities update; district highlights in‑house savings and ADA work

Connetquot Central School District facilities staff provided the board a slide‑illustrated update on summer capital projects and in‑house maintenance work, saying multiple roof replacements, HVAC and electrical upgrades, playground installations, and ADA improvements are on track for the start of school.

The presentation, led by John Allen and Brandon (director of facilities), covered work at the high school, middle schools and elementary sites. Allen said the high school pool renovation is progressing: "You can see that the acoustical treatments are done on the ceiling" and that drains and locker‑room connections are already in place. He said locker rooms were not ADA compliant and that the project added ADA showers to both boys’ and girls’ facilities.

Brandon — who identified himself in the presentation as director of facilities — summarized the district’s use of in‑house crews to reduce vendor costs. He said grounds and maintenance staff demolished old playground surfacing, managed site preparation, and met contractor mobilization schedules, which produced what he described as "a significant savings" for the district. Brandon estimated that by doing site work in‑house for the Duffield playground the district saved about $100,000.

Why it matters: the work affects building accessibility and classroom comfort before classes begin. Presenters said projects will allow the district to deliver air conditioning to nearly all teaching spaces, replace boilers at Pearl, and add stage lifts at elementary schools that lacked them, giving students with mobility needs access to auditorium stages.

The board and staff gave detailed examples of projects completed or nearing completion: roof replacements at secondary schools, pool perimeter and tile work, Cherokee hallway tile removal and replacement (which included abatement of mastic that contained asbestos), Duffield parking lot replacement and new drainage, four new UPK playgrounds and two new 5–12 playgrounds, envelope waterproofing at Slocum and Pearl, and electrical and HVAC upgrades to retire many window AC units. The presentation also noted flooring abatement projects timed to maximize state aid and a plan to finish remaining work during off hours if necessary so it does not interfere with instruction.

Facility staff described several district‑led initiatives intended to stretch capital dollars. Examples they provided include: - Grounds staff renting equipment and performing site demolition and engineered wood fiber removal to prep for playground vendors, which Brandon said enabled contractors to meet mobilization schedules and saved substantial vendor costs. - A district effort to take over irrigation winterization and startup work previously contracted out; Brandon estimated roughly $20,000 in savings from that work this year. - A National Grid steam‑trap rebate that, by replacing roughly 409 steam traps across four buildings, resulted in material and installation at no net cost to the district and an estimated savings of about $80,000 for traps that normally cost about $200 each.

Board members and community speakers praised the facilities and grounds departments for the volume and quality of work. Allen and Brandon said the district took on several projects that would have cost substantially more if fully outsourced, and noted some savings are one‑time while others reduce future operating costs. Allen said he expects the board walkthroughs scheduled next week to show completed work in the buildings.

Ending: presenters closed by inviting questions and noting that remaining finishes and punch‑list items would be resolved before or immediately after students return. The board then adjourned the facilities presentation and returned to business.