Middle Country School District voters approve $125.2 million in upgrades

Middle Country School District voters have approved -- by 10 votes -- a $125.2 million plan to upgrade 14 aging school buildings.

The bond referendum, which passed 415-405 on Tuesday, will raise taxes on the average home assessed at $2,200 by $79, or about 1.4 percent, beginning with the 2016-17 school year, Superintendent Roberta Gerold said Thursday.

The 20-year bond will pay for improvements such as security upgrades, 4,000 new windows, science and technology labs, music rooms and athletic facilities in schools that are 45 to 64 years old, she said.

"We could have patched it forever," Gerold said Thursday in an interview. "We got to the point where we couldn't wait any longer."

Construction is to begin next year and should be completed in about five years, Gerold said.

The Middle Country school system in central Brookhaven is one of Long Island's largest, with about 10,400 students.

Lisa Rawlinson, president of the Middle Country PTA/PTSA Council, said she supported the bond because the renovations would show potential community members that the district "is committed to bettering the schools.

"Every single school in the district is going to have something advantageous. . . . That supports the students, and that's always number one in my mind," Rawlinson said.

Gerold said New Lane Elementary School, which does not have a cafeteria, will have one built by revamping existing space.

"That will be a big benefit to the students," Rawlinson said.

Pat Castiglione of Port Jefferson Station questioned the vote because she said many residents did not know about it. Castiglione said many residents who live along the district's borders did not receive mailings about the referendum.

"A 10-vote margin . . . there were probably hundreds of people who had no clue that this was going on," Castiglione said.

She said she opposed the plan but did not vote because of a family medical issue.

Gerold acknowledged that some district residents may not have received mailings, which are sent by bulk mail without addresses on the envelopes, because postal carriers may not know district boundaries. But she said she did not think the problem affected the outcome.

Rawlinson said the district stepped up efforts to publicize the vote by visiting schools and using social media.

"They knew these things needed to happen," she said of district officials.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.