Sayville Schools begins plans on potential $48.6 million bond

Sayville Public Schools hosted a special meeting on Sept. 22 to discuss preliminary insights into a potential $48.6 million bond that would be used for the repair and renovation of district infrastructure, learning environments, and athletic fields.

The public meeting was the first that administrators at Sayville Public Schools said they seek to host with community members regarding the potential bond this school year. The presentation also comes three months after the formation of a bond advisory committee to explore capital needs across the district.

“The district has done a great job at keeping up with its facilities and doing things as they’re necessary and in a very financially economical way,” said Robert Bartels, interim assistant superintendent for business and personnel at Sayville Public Schools.

While Bartels re-iterated that district buildings are in “great shape,” he said annual walkthroughs and a state-mandated five-year-needs plan created by the district’s architect identified areas of concern including roofs, windows, heating, and air conditioning systems throughout the district.

The bond advisory committee has met bi-weekly this summer to identify needs and includes district administrators, parents, teachers, board of education members, the district’s architect, along with music and athletics boosters. The committee identified areas of concern for district infrastructure, learning environments, and athletic fields.

For the school’s athletic fields, Ryan Cox, director of health, physical education, athletics and recreation at Sayville Public Schools, said the district’s current facility setup is limiting. Aside from volleyball and tennis, no fall interscholastic sports are hosted directly on high school grounds, Cox said.

New junior and varsity turf baseball and softball fields would be created for practice and games, along with pickleball and basketball courts at the middle and high school. A concession stand and bathroom area would be located at the high school.

The multi-purpose field at the high school would also be renovated with new bleachers and widened to accommodate more sports and events. These facilities, Cox said, could open a new district revenue stream by opening the school to outside organizations.

“This potential capital bond represents a unique opportunity to transform our school grounds into a world-class facility, delivering critical upgrades that our district desperately needs,” said Cox.

Sayville High School principal Stephanie Bricker said areas of focus at the high school include modernizing science laboratories, creating a space for business, financial literacy, career exploration, and real-world learning, along with reimagining common areas for students and moving the offices for the school nurse and social workers to more accessible areas.

Danny Castellano, facilities administrator at Sayville Public Schools, said capital needs at the high school include new heating and HVAC systems in the gym to meet current energy codes, along with replacing windows, an original elevator, bathrooms, and curbing that would be ADA-compliant.

Sayville Middle School principal Joseph Castoro discussed similar needs at his school, like modernizing decades-old science laboratories, some of which don’t have working water and gas lines. Outdoor learning spaces and renovations to chorus and orchestra rooms, along with replacing auditorium seats that have fold-up desks to make the space more versatile were also identified. Castellano  added that new hot water and HVAC systems, along with ADA-compliant bathrooms and sidewalks are needed at the middle school.

“These are things that the building would really benefit a great deal from. Students would benefit a great deal from these changes,” Castoro said.

In elementary schools, the district identified three new pre-K playgrounds to allow children of all abilities to play, along with an outdoor learning area with a permanent canopy students and staff can use for group activities.

Castellano said each elementary school would get new HVAC systems in their gymnasiums, and that masonry issues like cracks and rotted wood, while not causing immediate concern, should have preventative replacements. A boiler at Sunrise Drive Elementary School would also be replaced.

The current potential $48.6 million bond would not cause a great impact on taxpayers, Bartels said, due to the district’s debt service schedules declining, meaning taking on new debt would be more balanced. The cost allocation for each school as of now would be $21 million for athletics fields, $8.9 million for the high school, $5.6 million for the middle school, $4.5 million for Sunrise Drive Elementary, $3.3 million for Lincoln Ave. Elementary, and $2.6 million each for Cherry Ave. Elementary, and Green Ave. Old Junior High.

Future public meetings are expected throughout the school year, with the district aiming to start the bond in summer 2027. The next Sayville Public Schools Board of Education business meeting is at the high school on Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m.