Tuckahoe Board Reconsiders $465K Project

The Tuckahoe School Board is considering whether to go through with a voter-approved $465,000 capital spending project to replace aged heating pipes, or to take a different tack that may be a more efficient use of taxpayer money.

According to a school budget brochure, the deteriorating pipes could break, forcing the the school to close temporarily and damaging the crawl space. But spending more money to replace the entire heating system with new technology may be a better move than maintaining what exists, according to Bill Chaleff and Paul Rogers of , who made suggestions to the board at a Monday meeting.

While newer portions of the school building use electric heat, the original parts use an oil and steam heating system.

Rogers said the steam pipes and boiler are 1950s technology, and suggested getting rid of the outmoded system altogether for something more efficient, such as gas heat and water pipes. He said that water pipes have a smaller diameter than steam pipes, and are therefore cheaper.

The existing heating system is six times bigger than necessary to heat the older portion of the school, and it would still be oversized if it was modified to heat the entire school, Rogers said, suggesting an appropriately sized heating system be installed.

School Board member Harald Steudte suggested installing what Southampton Village used at 25 Jobs Lane — the soon-to-be-former home of the Parrish Art Museum —  while he was a village trustee: a modern system of multiple boilers.

While running for his seat on the board earlier this year, Steudte said he was against the referendum that authorized the capital expenditure for new pipes.

The pipe replacement proposal when put to a vote in May, 120-222, but it was soon discovered that a voting machine error caused a number of "yes" votes not to be counted. When it was put back on the ballot in June, it 298-182.

Superintendent Chris Dyer said that if the district does decide to take a different path, a new referendum will be required for the capital expenditure.

At the same time the School Board weighs what to do about the heating system, members are looking at energy efficient improvements, such as replacing lighting fixtures and stopping heat loss around doors, windows and other areas. The school is also taking on a project to tint windows to block the sun's heat.

Rogers suggested a negative pressure test be conducted at the school, in which all the doors and windows are closed and a fan blows air out of the school. Then, smoke machines are used to identify where air is getting in and out of the building.