A gamble to save Eldred

By LISA CUTRONI

ELDRED, NY — With millions in taxpayer dollars needed to salvage the building, the Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO) asked the Eldred board of education to give gambling a chance.

The board agreed to put bingo on its February board agenda, after a quick discussion about opposing ethical and legal views.

“Our concerns with bingo were not overly simple. We were concerned, first, with the liability to the district of such a thing. We were concerned about the legality of it, and we were concerned about the morality of it,” board president Vincent Zike said.

The PTSO presented the idea of bingo the last Eldred Central School (ECS) Board of Education meeting, but the board was not prepared to vote on the issue at that time.

“The PTSO asked about bingo. At that time, it somewhat caught us off guard. What we did at that time was direct Dr. Katz to give us the facts,” Zike said.

During the January 12 meeting, ECS District Superintendent Dr. Ivan Katz told board members that to avoid legal issue of outside groups using school grounds as a gambling space, a clause in the policy could state that only organizations donating bingo proceeds to the district could use the high school facilities.

In other business, Zike told residents the renovation of the gym ceiling of the junior/senior high school costs just under $60,000.

“We all feel very fortunate in that we discovered the problem without the problem discovering us,” Zike said.

The cost of repair, Zike explained, would have been considerably less had it not been an emergency. With proper planning and forethought, the conditions at the junior/senior high school could be handled differently.

“We have to try to predict what we need to fix it and fix it in a planned method, so it’s not done in a way that costs the district an unbelievable amount of money,” Zike said.

Building conditions were again discussed when Zike told residents that the conditions survey, required by the NY State Department of Education every five-years, had been completed by Foit Albert, the engineering firm employed by the district.

Not surprisingly, the survey showed areas needing substantial infrastructure work in systems such as the 1940s electrical system.

“What we will use the survey for is to recognize or identify those items that need to be addressed. Some are quite substantial,” Zike said.

Construction of the Mackenzie Elementary School septic system, however, has been completed without a hitch, and even included some extras, such as a new chain link fence and security system.

Craig Lamoreaux, construction consultant for the Thomas Group, the architectural firm employed by the district, told residents that the remaining portions of the project would continue in the spring. At that time, the contractor will replace the topsoil on the septic fields and reseed the grass. The remaining topsoil removed during the repairwork will be relocated to the junior/senior high school and be used to extend the athletic field.