Swampscott School Department asking for over $850K in capital improvement funds

SWAMPSCOTT-The School Department is making 13 requests for capital improvement funds, which total $858,610 for the upcoming fiscal year.Superintendant of Schools Matt Malone prioritized the capital improvement requests from one to eight, with the top priorities being elementary school safety and a pickup truck with plow.Malone is asking for $70,000 in capital funds to improve security in the elementary schools, which he said includes intercoms, telephones in classrooms, door locking devices and upgrading the camera systems.The district also included $32,610 to purchase a pickup truck with a plow as one of its top priorities. The district is going to take over plowing responsibilities at the middle school and high school, according to Department of Public Works Director Gino Cresta.Number two priority items include $100,000 for asbestos abatement and $65,000 to purchase new textbooks.In FY ’08 the district included $113,000 in its line item budget for textbooks and for FY ’09 that line item has been reduced to $55,000 so the district is looking for capital improvement funds to make up the difference.The largest single request is to replace the roof on the Clarke School, which is expected to cost $200,000 and Malone ranked it as priority three. Also ranked third in terms of priority is $81,000 for instructional technology.The district is also looking for $50,000 for electrical and plumbing repairs across the district, which is fourth in terms of priority along with $25,000 for photocopier replacement.The district is also asking for $25,000 for a wrestling room at the middle school, which Malone said could be used as a multi-purpose room for other activities including yoga, cheerleading and dance teams. The wrestling room is ranked fifth in terms of Malone’s priorities along with $30,000 to repoint exterior brickwork across the district.Included in the $858,610 request is $180,000 to replace windows at several schools. According to Malone, the district needs $90,000 to replace windows in the Clarke School, $70,000 for the middle school on Forest Avenue and $20,000 to replace the windows in the gymnasium at the Stanley School.Window replacement at Clarke was ranked sixth in terms of priority and window replacement in the gymnasium at Stanley School was ranked number seven in terms of priority. The window replacement at the middle school was the lowest priority item on the list of capital improvement projects.Cresta, who is on the Capital Improvements Committee, said the committee has not looked at the school requests yet.In addition to the capital improvement requests, Malone’s recommended budget for FY ’09 is almost $23.2 million. The town is allocating $21.9 million to the schools, which leaves the district with a deficit of $1.25 million for the upcoming fiscal year. Malone’s recommended budget includes money for new programs and hiring additional staff members, which he said would cost an additional $371,401.