Mineola Middle School is slated for several renovations in the district’s proposed 2025-2026 budget.
Between a $4 million capital reserve transfer proposition on the May 20 ballot and approximately $4.17 million, or 2.3%, of the district’s budget designated for capital work, the board has four distinct, large-scale capital projects planned in the next year, according to Will Herman, the district’s assistant superintendent for business and operations.
Herman said 1.7%, or $1.6 million, of the district’s proposed budget will be used for the next phase of the middle school’s joint cafeteria and gym renovation.
When complete, the middle school will have a new gym, built as an addition to the school, which is currently under construction and set to open by the start of the 25-26 school year. Its current gym will be converted into a cafeteria, and its current cafeteria will be converted into new classroom space.
Herman said the district was looking to make these changes because the middle school’s current cafeteria is divided in half by a hallway, which presents challenges in keeping an eye on students as they travel back and forth during the period. The new cafeteria will look similar to the high school’s, which the board hopes will ease the transition for students. The district felt that additional instructional space would benefit students.
He said the district plans to complete the project by the start of the 26-27 school year.
Some 0.5% of the district’s budget is set to be used for school-specific upgrades, including classroom furniture and auditorium air conditioner replacement in the high school, cafeteria furniture, football lockers and lacrosse lockers in the middle school, staff bathroom renovations at Meadow Drive, and completing air conditioning at Willis Avenue, Herman added.
Herman also provided an in-depth look at the three projects proposed to be funded by a proposition voters will see on their May 20 budget and school board election ballot, which asks voters to approve a transfer of $4 million from the district’s $6.4 million capital reserve fund to finance additional improvements to the middle school.
If passed, the middle school will see a roof replacement over its auditorium, possible replacement of other nearby gutters and insulation, a complete renovation and conversion of the existing baseball field into a synthetic turf field, equipped with new dugouts, fencing, lighting and spectator seating and repairs to an unsafe “areaway”, described as a sort of unused emergency exit near the building’s art rooms by the board.
Superintendent Michael P. Nagler emphasized the necessity of these improvements, stating that the roof was leaking, over 25 years old, and no longer suitable.
He also compared the current state of the baseball field to the recently renovated softball field adjacent to it, which is set to be completed within the next month and will likely be used by students within the next two weeks.
“Part of this proposal is to replicate what has happened in our softball field in our baseball field,” Herman added. “We are hoping that we can beautify both spaces and make the experience of being a softball player and baseball player the same.”
Residents can vote on the $112,197,493 budget alongside Proposition Two on May 20 between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. at the district’s Synergy building. The budget, up 2.41% from this year’s $109,552,352, is partially funded by a 2.08% tax levy increase, a value exactly equal to the district’s tax cap.
According to calculations by Schneps Media LI, Mineola’s school district spends $37,981.54 per student.
The board also approved a slate of employees for summer work, including 19 paid student workers who will help run summer lacrosse, volleyball, and wrestling camps, along with other seasonal positions, including those with the school’s grounds staff.
Other summer positions include 15 music, dance, drama, art, STEM and STEAM teachers and substitutes for the Summer Fine and Performing Arts Program, 15 nurses, speech teachers, psychologists, occupational therapists and special education teachers for the district’s extended school year program for special needs students, 26 special education aides, 15 teachers for the district’s summer literacy program and 24 summer bus drivers and attendants.
For summer sports camps, the board appointed coaches Kayla A. Koch for basketball, Jacqueline R. von Bargen and Erin E. Regan for girls lacrosse, Hyunah Park and Donald A. Leopardi for girls volleyball, and Joseph P. Cerulli for wrestling.
“The district never sleeps,” Nagler said.
