School projects continue through summer for Verona

Verona schools officials are keeping busy during the summer making sure the buildings and grounds are ready for when classes start again.

Superintendent of Schools Rui Dionisio outlined several of the maintenance projects taking place in the district during the summer months during a July 25 Board of Education meeting. 

In addition to general cleaning and prep for the first day of school, several projects are expected to be finished by the first day of school on Sept. 6. Three classrooms were organized in H.B. Whitehorne Middle School for new special-education classes, the superintendent said. 

In Verona High School, the staff will renovate the fitness center. At the lower field at the high school, they will convert a storage house to two restrooms.

“We hope to have that ready for the fall for soccer season so parents and community members can access that,” Dionisio said, “and it will obviously be ready for baseball and softball season as well.”

SCHOOLS: Deadline approaches to run for Verona BOE

RELATED: More school referendums possible in Verona

Board member Jim Day said he had a chance to tour the “lovely new bathroom facility,” and that the staff is “doing a bang-up job to get that moving.”

Converting the bathrooms with their own maintenance staff saved the district money, according to Dionisio, as architects had quoted the project at $150,000 to $200,000 but they can do it on their own for “a fraction of that cost.”

The walkway at the upper field will also be paved during the summer, the superintendent continued.

Though not a school project, Sampson Drive that runs past Verona High School was paved during the week of July 24 to 28. 

Construction will remain on the forefront for the Board of Education as the members mull a potential referendum. Though member Glenn Elliott stressed that it’s all “very preliminary,” some items that could be included are roof and window replacements, renovation of the stage riggings at all six schools, and replacement of the H.B. Whitehorne track surface.

The earliest a referendum could be held for Verona voters would be in spring 2018, Elliott said on Tuesday. In the meantime the board members still have plenty of research and discussion to do, and mean to seek community input, he noted. 

Email: jongsma@northjersey.com