Voters approve fixes at Shoreham-Wading River school
Under a state threat to close their deteriorating middle school, Shoreham-Wading River voters Wednesday approved a $3-million proposal aimed mostly at fixing potential fire hazards and other safety risks at the 36-year-old building.
The 1,215-to-791 vote settled an impasse over building repairs that has dragged on since last October, when residents rejected a $39.9-million renovation plan.
"The district's excited because now we can move forward a little," said Janice Seus, the district clerk.
District officials had said before Wednesday's referendum that a "yes" vote will cost taxpayers nothing, because most repair money will be drawn from surplus reserves. Last spring the district passed a 25.9 percent tax hike to support its operating budget.
At the Shoreham-Wading River High School polling site, a stream of voters' cars pulled into the parking lot Wednesday afternoon. Interviews with a dozen voters found most younger residents supportive of the district's spending plan, and most older residents opposed.
"I graduated from the middle school in 2003, and it was falling apart then," said one supporter, Christina Wagner, 20, of Shoreham, now a junior at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. "I can only imagine what it's like now."
According to the district, most of the $3 million will be spent on improvements at the Albert G. Prodell Middle School, including new fire alarms, interior walls and safety glass. Repairs will supplement work already done over the summer. New funds also are earmarked for fire doors and ventilators at the district's 79-year-old Briarcliff Road Elementary School. In May, residents narrowly rejected a similar $3-million repair plan, 1,612 to 1,578. The district's budget, which carried a proposed 26.6 percent tax hike, lost by a far larger margin. At that point, the district adopted a contingency budget with the 25.9 percent tax hike.
The next month, the State Education Department downgraded the middle school's certificate of occupancy from permanent to temporary status, based on an inspector's report of "serious" fire and health risks. The state's action signaled that the middle school could be shut down if hazards weren't fixed.
With Josh Seidman
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