Schools Complete Last-Minute Renovations

Three thousand Mahopac middle and high school students are back in the classroom this week now that the 2010-11 school year is underway.

The new term began on Tuesday. Just days before, last minute renovations and repairs were concluded by a small army of construction workers, contractors, and school employees.

A new entrance to the Mahopac High School will provide better safety and security for students and staff. The Mahopac High School Library has undergone major renovations. New computer rooms with the latest technology have been created in the former balcony of Mahopac High School.

At the middle school, workers toiled in record-breaking heat to eliminate any future airflow problems like the ones that plagued the school last year.

Superintendent Thomas Manko told the COURIeR during a tour of the building last week, “The facility is safe and secure. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning work was completed by first studying the envelope of the building to make sure the building no longer leaks air. Windows on all three floors have been freshly caulked. Every unit vent was opened only to be found oversized. In the old days, dampers could have been easily closed for individual vents. Today things are different. They have all been synched up with metal flanges, lab bolts and expandable insulation. In addition crews repiped all of the rooms while adding new insulation.”

Manko said the district also completed two small asbestos abatement projects at the middle school this summer.