Schools
Long-Term District Plan Remains in Question
HUFSD's Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee met for the fifth time on Tuesday as it continues to narrow down plans for the future of the district.
Huntington school district parents, Board of Education members, school principals, and Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee members gathered Tuesday evening to discuss the future of the Huntington Union Free School District (HUFSD) and the five remaining potential configurations for its future. Members of the Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee said the objective of the meeting was to address the issues surrounding each building plan and to determine which will be most accommodating for all students in the HUFSD.
As there is still no set timeline for a decision to be made, district architect Roger Smith led the discussion in hopes of inspiring those present to reach a conclusion to present to the Board of Education in the near future.
"The object for this week for us as a firm is to make some decisions for you," said Smith, referring to his firm, BBS Architects and Engineers. "Let's look at the plans and start talking about them."
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Kevin Walsh, a project manager at BBS, walked those present through a detailed PowerPoint presentation, depicting architectural plans for each possible configuration to combat the district's overcrowding and need for renovations. The diagrams, including both full and reduced plans, mapped out the possibilities for all eight schools in the district.
"We're trying to be consistent and equal in the approach to each building," Walsh explained. "We'll group things the best way we can."
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Though much of the meeting revolved around choosing between construction of K-3 or K-4 primary schools, more pressing questions included how to best utilize Jack Abrams and Woodhull, if fourth- through sixth-graders should be split into the two schools, and whether the development of a sixth-grade center would be beneficial.
"[The reduced version of Woodhull] is a little severe," Walsh admitted, since in these plans the auditorium would be separate from the rest of the school. "We're trying to stay as economic as possible."
The conclusion of the meeting left the general impression that two of the five plans are to be eliminated, leaving three plans to choose from at the committee's next meeting on Sept. 21.
"This is about resolving space needs you've had for a while, and finding a way to get them fixed," Smith said.
