School Security Upgrade Plan, Wind Turbine Installation and More This Week

Here are a few things you may find on Wayne Patch this week.

• The Board of Education approved going out for a referendum in March to help finance a sweeping project that would upgrade several safety and security measures at nearly every school in the district.

The Board has applied to the state for debt service aid from the state to finance 40 percent of the project’s cost. The exact improvements and projects vary from school to school, said Superintendent Ray Gonzalez.

The projects are part of the district’s Long Range Facility Plan. The state-mandated plan requires districts to comprehensively assess their building systems and identify which ones need to be replaced.

District officials have not yet said what the specific improvements are.

• The Board approved the district’s Energy Savings Improvement Plan Thursday. 

The $10 million plan is designed to pay for itself over the next 15 years. The plan involves installing 16,000 LED and high-efficiency light blubs and fixtures and automotive temperature control systems in every school. Thirteen of the district’s 35 boilers will be replaced based on their “age and current fuel inefficiencies,” Gonzalez previously said.

• Robert Burke’s plan to install a wind turbine may finally come true this year. Burke originally applied to install a 75-foot wind turbine at his business, Wayne Auto Spa, six years ago. The matter dragged through the court systems for years. The town settled with Burke last year.
  

We’ll talk to Burke and see what the timetable is for installing the turbine.