Members of Community District Education Council 22 (CEC 22) met virtually on Tuesday evening, December 6th via Zoom for the much-anticipated presentation of the proposed 5-Year Capital Plan (2020-2024) given by Yvette Knight of the School Construction Authority (SCA).
The SCA performs major capital improvement work in existing buildings, in addition to building new schools. This work includes projects such as masonry repair, window and roof replacement, HVAC systems, new fire alarm systems, public address systems, electrical upgrades, repairing major plumbing issues, removal of transportable classroom units (TCUs) and playground rehabilitation.
During her presentation, Knight explained that the $20.1 billion plan includes capacity increases ($8.75 billion), accessibility upgrades ($750 million), technology upgrades ($1.02 billion), electrification ($400 million) and TCU removal and playground redevelopments ($317 million), among other items. While the presentation did not delve into the specifics of these upgrades, it appears that more information will become available as the proposal process continues.
During her report, District 22 Superintendent Julia Bove brought up the hotly-contested topic of a proposed K-8 Success Academy charter school co-location at the Frank J. Macchiarola Educational Complex (formerly Sheepshead Bay High School), located at 3000 Avenue X. She encouraged educators and families in the District to attend the virtual hearing being held on Wednesday evening, December 7th to voice their opinions.
CEC 22 President Oluwaseun Salako, 1st Vice President Florence Wang and other members explained that they do not support the proposed co-location for a variety of reasons. They cited issues with Kindergarten students being housed in the same building as 12th-graders, the potentially crippling funding loss that would occur if a large number of students in neighboring public schools went charter, as well as the inability of public schools to compete with the massively expensive advertising campaigns charters run in an effort to win over potential students.
The next meeting of CEC 22 will be held virtually on Tuesday, January 3rd at 6:30 p.m.
