School District Undergoes Abestos Abatement In Board Room

Hauppauge school officials are overseeing an asbestos abatement project in the district's administrative offices before the 2011-2012 school year begins.

Superintendent Patricia Sullivan-Kriss said the tiled floor of the James Baxter Board Room at the former l, where the district's biweekly Board of Education meetings are held, will be replaced due to age and deterioration.

"We did have some people on election day physically tripping in the area," said Eileen Mass, vice president of the school board.

The board room floor shows obvious signs of age, chipped and cracked down to the concrete subfloor in several areas.

"They are asbestos tiles. We felt the best thing to do is to remove the tiles and replace it for the safety of everyone," Sullivan-Kriss said.

A Melville-based firm began ripping up the asbestos-lacked tiling on Wednesday morning. The project will cost the district $15,000 in asbestos abatement and $5,000 to $6,000 for new tiling, said James Stucchio, the assistant superintendent of business and operation.

“We’ve been looking to replace the floor for at least five to six years,” Stucchio said. “If you remove the chairs and walk around, you can hear tile crunching and breaking. That is a concern of ours as well.”

The assistant superintendent said the district looked into laying flooring or carpeting over the tiles as an asbestos abatement measure. However, Stucchio said any additional flooring or carpeting would be treated as asbestos material once laid over the existing tile, costing more to replace in the future

District spokeswoman Pam Donovan said the project is expected to be completely by the next Board of Education meeting, scheduled for Aug. 29.

The asbestos abatement project is one of many construction projects undertaken by the Hauppauge Public School district over the summer. The library has been renovated and ’s heating ventilation and air conditioning units will be replaced. The foyer is also getting repainted and retiled.