Mattituck School District outlines five-year plan for facilities improvements

A new building management system proposed for Mattituck Junior-Senior High School would allow for better temperature control to create more efficiency.

Superintendent Shawn Petretti discussed the system as part of a five-year plan for upgrades to the district’s facilities at a “roundtable of shareholders” last Wednesday. 

“Right now, if you teach in junior high, or are students in junior high, you know it’s either really, really hot, or it’s really, really cold,” Mr. Petretti said.

The building management system would control the temperature throughout the building and in individual classrooms. Its installation would “create efficiency, comfort and control of temperatures in the junior high classrooms,” according to a five-year facilities plan report handed out at the meeting. 

The system would cost about $110,000, according to the report, and the money would come from the district’s annual budget.

Mr. Petretti said two items were pressing. The first was to address the junior high boilers. The plan calls for replacing burners as opposed to the entire boiler, he said.

The other would address a safety concern for track and field athletes. A sunken track curbing where the pole vault is located would be repaired before the outdoor spring season begins, according to the report. The sunken curbing is a safety concern, Mr. Petretti said.

The five-year plan outlines a timeline of projects the district plans to undertake to address outstanding issues in coming years. 

Mr. Petretti said it is a “fluid plan.”

Four projects would be included in the upcoming budget that will go before voters in May.

The first was recoating and repairing the Mattituck High School track, which was installed in 2014. The report says the work should be done as soon as possible to “prolong” the life of the track. The funds for the $165,000 project would come from the annual budget, according to the report.

The building management system in the junior high school was second on the list.

The STEM wing renovation was the third priority on the district’s list. It would provide opportunities for additional STEM classes and programs such as robotics. The $3.4 million cost would come from the capital reserve.

The fourth item proposed is a roof recoating at Cut-ch-ogue East Elementary School. The district is proposing a recoating with a 30-year warranty for $2.2 million instead of replacing it entirely. The money would also come from the capital reserve and would require voter approval.

Mr. Petretti said that the district will be focusing on two of the four projects mentioned in the report: the STEM wing and fixing the roof at Cut-chogue East.

He said it’s a two-step process. The district first would need a vote to move money from the reserve funds to the capital reserve. The district would then need voter approval to spend the money from the reserves on those two projects.

“We’re going to try to get two of those projects done either in the annual budget or with surplus funds from this year,” Mr. Petretti said.

According to the report, some of the other goals set for the district within the next five years include a solar project at Cut-ch-ogue East and Mattituck High School, a districtwide technology infrastructure upgrade, tennis court reconstruction and replacing the playground at Cut-ch-ogue East, among other things.

Mr. Petretti emphasized that nothing in the plan is fixed and he recognizes that the district has an obligation to be fiscally responsible with its goals.

“Priorities and funding are going to drive the timeline, we have to be fiscally responsible,” Mr. Petretti said.

Correction: The five-year plan was discussed at a “roundtable of shareholders” and not an official Board of Education meeting. The next BOE meeting is Jan. 20 at 6:30 p.m.