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CROSS RIVER, N.Y. When Katonah-Lewisboro School District students return to the classroom Wednesday morning for the first day of the new school year, theyll be walking into buildings that boast a fresh new look thanks to a litany of renovation and makeover projects that took place during the summer.
Tom Psomas, the districts director of facilities, operation and maintenance, called it the busiest summer hes had since hes been on the job.
I've been here 18 years, and this has been the most productive and exhaustive summer I've had, but it was also one of the smoothest, he said. I have a wonderful staff and they get stuff done every day and this summer was jam-packed with things to do.
Psomas said it was John Jay High School that had the most work done. In the high schools administration office, asbestos abatement was completed with all floor tiles removed, walls painted and carpets replaced. Ceramic tile was installed in the Gallery Hallway, and electrical piping to support laundry facilities in the athletic department was completed. Carpets in the band and chorus rooms were replaced and both rooms have been painted. Carpet has been replaced in the drivers room of the transportation office as well.
Psomas called the tiling of the Gallery Hallway the most significant project of the summer.
The carpet there was 15 years old and saw a lot of foot traffic, he said. The fiber tends to break down and it becomes uncleanable.
By replacing the carpet with tile, Psomas said cleaning the hallways will become less labor intensive.
We have a machine to clean [the tiles] called an auto scrubber, he said. It will save labor and time that we can use on other things.
At John Jay Middle School, the roof underwent extensive repairs and wiring for a PA and associated AV feeds was installed. The buildings exterior also received a fresh coat of paint.
At Katonah Elementary, exterior painting, interior painting of the stairwells, repairs and painting of the cupola, paving of the circle and the area behind the building and the replacement of the catch basin were completed. Restoration of an all-purpose room on the ground floor, asbestos abatement of the floor tile in a basement hallway and the re-tiling of the hallway also was accomplished. The fire alarm system and its components were replaced.
The Lewisboro Elementary Schools exterior was painted, including the cupola. At Increase Miller Elementary, carpets have been replaced and new tile has been installed in two rooms. The playground and walkways have been paved and HVAC control work has been done. New carpets were installed in the district offices within the school building.
At Meadow Pond Elementary, two classrooms have been remodeled and the playground and walkways have been repaved.
This past spring, voters approved $5.9 million in capital-improvement projects, which are now in the design phase. Work is expected to begin on those projects in the spring of 2013. This includes the addition of new water tanks at Meadow Pond Elementary, roof replacements at John Jay High, Katonah Elementary, Increase Miller Elementary, and Meadow Pond Elementary, boiler replacements at Increase Miller and Meadow Pond, and the district-wide installation of occupancy sensors.
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