03-02-2001 New plan to overhaul Bedford schools: Spend $91.1 million

By FRANK NARDOZZI

A total of $91.1 million in new construction and renovations was proposed by the Bedford Central School District's Citizens Facilities Advisory Committee's at the school board's meeting on Wednesday, Feb '. 28.

More than half of the total, $49.6 million, would be devoted to new construction and renovation at Fox Lane High School to meet an expected 40 percent rise in student enrollment.

New construction and renovation at two of the oldest elementary schools account for most of the remainder $20.8 million in new classroom construction and renovations at Mount Kisco Elementary School and $11.8 million at Pound Ridge.

In a somewhat surprising revelation, the committee recommended that four one-story classroom wings to the rear of the high school be demolished in favor of building a new two-floor addition at the front of the building. While the new construction would cost $30.1 million, it would save $7.2 million in renovation expenses, the committee said.

Another $13.3 million would be spent on renovations to the high school, with "soft costs" relating to design and architectural fees for the entire project amounting to $13.4 million.

The committee's recommendations were made after 14 months of study with the help of professional expertise provided by an architectural consulting firm, the Geddis Partnership; a site engineer, Landtech; and a cost engineer, Arms, Inc.

Source materials used by the group included the school district's demographic studies, the state's curriculum and facilities standards and a comprehensive building condition survey done for the State Education Department that was recently released.

The group's more than 40 full-committee meetings included building tours as well as meetings with district residents, faculty, students, school administrators and community officials.

The Bedford Central School District includes a high school, middle school, five elementary schools and one administration building, in addition to some off-campus sites for alternative education. A total of 740 faculty, staff and administrators serve a total of 3,800 students.

             Committee's framework

Homer Schoen, the chairman of the Citizens Facilities Advisory Committee, said that the committee "early-on adopted a carefully structured framework," which included a scale of priorities, guiding principles and clear consensus rules.

The highest priorities were given to health and safety issues, increased enrollment and support for program requirements. Guiding principles included such priorities as the retention of neighborhood schools and their existing boundaries. The consensus rules included the requirement that three-fourths of all committee members present had to say "yes" or "no" on all major recommendations. The committee has 14 members.

Fox Lane High School

Steven Levine of Bedford Village is chairman of the facilities committee's high school sub-committee. He is a consulting actuary based in Katonah and has children in Fox Lane high and middle schools, and Bedford Village Elementary School.

in comments he made to the school board, Mr. Levine said, "Fox Lane High School is a nationally recognized Blue Ribbon School of Excellence with palpable energy and a strong personality, which we believe must be maintained and enhanced."

Mr. Levine said that the school, which was built in 1956, "is now functionally deficient. The layout of the high school and its classrooms, and the sizes of many classrooms, are not appropriate to support today's curriculum."

"The building will not have enough classrooms to accommodate the projected increase in enrollment, from approximately 1,000 students today to over 1,350 students by the end of the decade," he said.

"In addition, the amount of parking, the size of the cafeteria and the existing athletic fields will be inadequate to support the projected enrollment increase," he added.

The recommended building project would increase the number of classrooms from 69 to 84. The centerpiece of the plan is a new two-story classroom wing at the front of the school, which would move the hub of the school forward. The entire science wing would be modernized, and four new science classrooms would be added to accommodate increased enrollment and expanded Regents requirements.

Mr. Levine said that four classroom wings at the back of the school would be demolished in the second phase of construction. He said that it was the committee's finding that renovating these wings "would ultimately cost at least as much as new construction. "

He also stated that demolishing the classroom wings would "free up a significant amount of space for parking."

The committee's plan recommends widening the main campus road and creating separate drop-off and pick-up areas for buses and cars at both the high school and middle school.

Additional athletic fields would be built behind Fox Lane Middle School and between the administration building and the existing baseball field. The plan also includes a new fieldhouse with athletic offices and restroom facilities, and bleachers for the football field. The existing student parking lot beside the football field would be converted into tennis courts.

Sandi Mahfouz of Bedford Hills is chairman of the elementary school subcommittee. She is a certified public accountant and was the former director of financial services for the northeast division of M.C.I. She has two children, one in Fox Lane Middle School and one in West Patent Elementary School.

                         Mount Kisco Elementary

Ms. Mahfouz said that Mt. Kisco Elementary School was  originally built in 1912 as a three-story K-12 grade school fronting on West Hyatt Avenue. it underwent additions and renovations in 1916, 1920, 1992 and 1998.

"Because of this building's history and its unique eccentric layout, it makes renovation of the interior difficult," she said.

"The building consists of many inconsistently sized rooms that are inappropriate for conducting classes today. Some are very large, while others are extremely small," she said.

Current enrollment at Mount Kisco stands at 509 students. Peak enrollment is expected to reach 547 in 2004.

Ms. Mahfouz cited basic functional problems, including poor ventilation, water penetration in the auditorium walls, safety and egress issues and toilets in poor shape.

"The cafeteria, gymnasium and library are all inadequately sized to support not only future enrollment projections, but also current needs," she said. "There's also a shortfall in the number of classrooms and spaces allocated to support personnel and programs."

The committee recommended the construction of five new classrooms, a new cafeteria and a new gymnasium; relocation of the library and computer room to the auditorium with appropriate renovations; and the creation of a new main entrance lobby for students arriving on foot.

Cost of new construction at Mount Kisco Elementary School was projected to be $10.4 million, with another $5.2 million needed for renovations and $5.6 million on related costs. The new construction would result in a savings of $400,000 on renovations, which would result in a total cost of $20.8 million.

Pound Ridge Elementary

Ms. Mahfouz said that another elementary school in the district requiring significant attention was Pound Ridge Elementary School, constructed in 1939. The school currently houses of 366 students with a peak enrollment of 416 expected in 2004. -

"The basic functional problems which can be seen at this facility include a seriously aging building envelope, severe ventilation problems and windows that are in extremely poor shape," she said. "The school is also short of classroom space."

The committee recommended the construction of five new classrooms, a new library and a new computer room. The plan also called for the construction of a new front entrance to help separate car and bus traffic.

New construction at Pound Ridge would cost $3.7 million, which would save $200,000 on the needed $5.1 million in renovations. Related costs would be $3.2 million, bringing the total cost of the project to $11.8 million.

Other elementary schools

Ms. Mahfouz also said that Bedford Hills Elementary School, built in 1922,needed to have its main entranceway replaced. Heating and ventilation, roofing, ceilings, lighting and the public address system are also in need of repair or replacement.

The cost of renovations at Bedford Hills Elementary wasi put at $2.1 million, with related costs of $700,000.

Bedford Village Elementary School priority building projects included repair of the heating and ventilation system, paving parking lots and replacing plumbing fixtures. The cost of renovations was put at $1 million, with another $400,000 in related costs.

Ms. Mahfouz said that $1 million in renovations were also needed at West Patent Elementary School. They included the repointing or replacement of exterior walls, a new fire alarm system, repaving the upper parking lot and repair or replacement of the boiler, heating system, air ducts and septic system. Related costs of $300,000 were projected.

"In most cases the majority of capital projects are required to renovate aging buildings," Ms. Mahfouz said. "New construction recommendations have been suggested only when the existing facility cannot be renovated to solve the facility problem.