Facilities report: high‑school hot water problem, summer food‑service audit finding and a freezer bid award

Mr. Luce (Speaker 8) told the Hampton Bays Union Free School District Board of Education on Feb. 10 that an aging hot-water system in the high school is driving a temporary workaround for the kitchen sink and that capital work on HVAC systems is concentrated at the high school.

“We have a little hot water problem in high school,” Luce said, explaining the building was constructed with a single water heater in 1972 and that the district devised a solution that boosts the kitchen sink’s water to the required temperature while relying on the building hot water to be functioning.

Luce reported the district passed its August 2025 summer food-service audit with one procedural documentation issue: staff visits and observations during the first three weeks of the summer must be recorded. He said a child-nutrition audit of the current school year is scheduled for April 15.

Capital projects are under way, Luce said, with contractors currently focused on installing AC systems at the high school and, when work crews cannot be on site, shifting to elementary-school work. He also announced the district would award a bid tonight for a walk-in freezer at the high school’s loading dock.

Luce recognized the buildings-and-grounds crew and named Tom McElrath for his team’s efforts maintaining safe, operational facilities through recent snow, ice and wind events.

The board took no additional action beyond approving the consent agenda; Luce’s report outlined ongoing maintenance, the audit timeline and the immediate temporary fix for the hot-water issue.