Port Jefferson School District Wraps Up Summer Projects

Written by Christine Sampson

The Port Jefferson School District has finished more than a dozen construction and improvement projects throughout the schools, much of which was done in-house over the summer.

“A shout out to all of our staff, especially our custodial staff. With everything new that comes out we try to do the projects in house,” Sean Leister, assistant superintendent for business, said at a recent school board meeting.

Paramount among the school construction projects was the installation of buzzers equipped with cameras at four places in the district.

“This enables us to free up our security staff to patrol the building and have other duties,” Leister said. “This camera is connected to our security desk, our attendance office and our general office.”

Another big project included the redesign of the press box and installation of a new public address system at the track/football field at the high school. Leister said the original ones were damaged in Hurricane Sandy, and insurance and FEMA reimbursements covered much of the costs.

The district also rented bandwidth on the radio repeater tower at St. Charles Hospital, which will allow radio communication between all the buildings in the school district.

“In the past, the radios had been limited in range to the individual buildings,” Leister said.

Among the other improvements made throughout the district:

• A drainage system added at the top of the stairs to the football field, and wooden step replacement at the baseball field.

• The dedication of a classroom as a language lab at the high school, with setup and wiring done in-house.

• Repaving at multiple spots on school grounds, including the elementary school bus circle.

• Replacement of the sign outside the middle school.

• Repairs to a wall in a middle school science room.

• New tables in the elementary school cafeteria.

• The installation of two new water bottle fountains, donated by the Class of 2013.

• Asbestos abatement and heating system upgrades in the tech ed facility.

• Removal of sheds that were in disrepair at the elementary school.

• Tree removal and trimming related to trees that were considered a safety hazard.

The district is also working on several projects to be completed in the near future, including:

• A music lab at the high school.

• Camera installation at the high school track/football field.

• Replacement of playground mulch.

• Repair and replacement of bollards and bumpers to protect the buildings.