The Syosset Board of Education held a special meeting on Tuesday, July 22, to discuss emergency electrical repairs at Walt Whitman Elementary School.
The building, which experienced power outages at the end of June, was approved to receive repairs to its transmission lines to resolve the underlying electrical problems.
Superintendent Thomas Rogers said at the end of the 2024-2025 school year, Walt Whitman students were relocated to the high school due to a power outage at the elementary building. The power was restored through the end of the school year, but the district has found larger electrical issues since then, he said.
“Our discovery over the summer has been that there are some serious problems with the transmission lines that go underground and reach the building, and those lines are going to have to be removed and replaced,” Rogers said.
He said the district will have to go through an “expedited process,” which the state refers to as an “emergency process,” to resolve the issue before school starts on Sept. 2.
“Our hope is that we will get this done in time for the start of school,” Rogers said. He said that in the event that the work is not completed in time, the district will contract a generator to “tide” the building over until those repairs are finished.
Rogers said the district received numerous bids on the project and the lowest one, which was selected, is a “reputable electrician” who has done “excellent work” at the high school.
Rogers said aspects of the electrical work were expected to be completed in the future due to building upgrades at Walt Whitman, but will be completed sooner due to the issues discovered.
“A lot of this is work that is just being accelerated,” he said.
The motion was unanimously approved by board President Carol Cheng and Trustees Brian Grieco, Anna Levitan, Shany Park, Thomas A Rotolo and David Ginsburg. Vice President Lisa Coscia and Trustees Lynn Abramson and Susan Falkove were not present at the vote.
At the special meeting, the school board also welcomed Nikhil Shah as its student representative for the 2025-2026 school year.
“It’s an honor to be appointed to this position and to serve on behalf of the students in this district. And I’m really looking forward to advocating on their behalf and providing meaningful input to the board’s decisions,” Shah said.
“We look forward to working with you,” Cheng said.
