Video surveillance, turf, utility access all on tap
Monroe schools get some longstanding 'wish list' items
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer
Awide array of improvements are in the works for all six of Monroe's public schools, meant to enhance the district's capabilities in a number of ways.

Some are under way or completed while others are yet to begin, and the projects are all due to be finished in the coming year.

Closed-circuit surveillance cameras will be installed around the perimeter of all schools for security purposes. Connected to digital video recorders to allow for 24-hour surveillance, the Webbased system will allow security personnel and administrators to view and review what is caught by the lenses of more than 100 cameras, according to Jerry Tague, director of facilities for the Monroe school district.

"You want to make sure that our children are as safe and secure as possible," said Kathy Kolupanowich, Board of Education president.

Superintendent of Schools Ralph Ferrie organized an ad hoc committee on safety and security about a year ago, to respond to safety concerns in schools throughout the United States, Tague said. After touring a number of schools throughout the state and weighing the pros and cons of various security systems, the committee was able to determine what would work best for Monroe.

The Board of Education awarded the contract for the $199,250 project to Triad Security Systems. It is anticipated to be complete by winter recess, and up and running by January, Tague said.

An additional benefit of the system, Tague noted, is that it will allow administrators to view snow conditions at school facilities, to determine from home whether school should be cancelled on a given day.

Applegarth Middle School will soon be connected to municipal water and sewer lines. Since the time the school was built in 1936, the utilities have not been available near its location. As a result of a 1,200-home development being built in proximity to the school, the builder, U.S. Home Corp., has agreed to run lines that would supply the facility.

As a condition of the project's approval, U.S. Home was required to widen Applegarth Road. To do so, they needed about 13 feet of frontage on school property. The Board of Education agreed to exchange the frontage for access to water and sewer, Tague said.

"The concern has always been that the student population has increased at Applegarth School, but the capacity of the septic fields has not," Tague said. "Now that we're able to connect to the municipal water and sewer, that potential problem is eliminated."

Approval for the project has been secured from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and last night the board was scheduled to vote on awarding the contract to Brian Patterson Mechanical. The firm will connect the lines to the school at a cost of $222,500. Though Kolupanowich said officials hoped to see the project completed by this month, it is slated to be finished by December.

Upgrades to athletic facilities will help to better accommodate district sports programs. Lighting at the high school athletic complex is being installed by LaManna Electric. Included areas are the football stadium, synthetic field, practice field and tennis courts, Tague said.

According to Kolupanowich, lighting at the complex has been on the district's wish list for some time.

"Since our football program is growing, we want to do everything we can to support them," Kolupanowich said.

The football stadium field will also undergo conversion from grass to synthetic turf. Tague said the project will go out to bid in October, and officials are hoping to award the contract by November. If all goes on target, the project will be completed in June 2008.

Upgrades at the high school varsity softball field will include new dugout structures and foul ball netting. That project is slated to be finished by spring 2008.

Site work behind the Brookside Elementary School is nearly complete. Parking lot paving and painting has taken place, and site restoration, including reseeding, has been completed. Once the seeds germinate, the area is expected to be fully ready for use by spring 2008. At that time, a playground will be installed at the site, according to a report by Ferrie.

New phone systems have been installed at the high school and Applegarth Middle School. In the past, those who called the schools would either get a busy signal or have to let the phone ring until someone picked up and transferred them to the appropriate department. Now callers will hear an automated menu, which will allow them to be transferred and leave voicemail messages. The new system was in place for the first day of school.

"It's an updated, more modernized phone system to bring us up to the 21st century," Kolupanowich said.