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ASD to begin abatement program this week at Northeast and Northwest When school closes for the weekend on Friday, contractors working for the Amityville School District will remove asbestos from the boiler rooms in the Northeast and Northwest elementary schools. The work, which is being monitored by the firm of J.C. Broderick, is expected to be completed by the time school opens on Monday, November 19. BrendanBroderick told the school board and residents who attended the school board meeting Wednesday, Nov. 7, that his firm would be on hand before, during and after the work is completed to ensure that every safeguard as required by law is taken by the company doing the work, Micro Tech Construction. "Micro Tech is a very reputable company and we have worked with them before," said Broderick whose firm provides an independent review of the work to ensure compliance with all state and federal regulations. "We anticipate the entire project to take about 72 hours to complete." The district is installing back flow devices on its boilers at the schools. Some asbestos material in the area has to be removed before that can be done, said Broderick. Micro Tech Construction will seal off a containment area, put in a decontamination chamber and install a negative filtration system that traps the air, filters it and then allows it to escape outside of the building. The area is wet down and J.C. Broderick takes air samples throughout the process to ensure that no asbestos has become airborne. The asbestos material itself will be bagged, decontaminated and bagged again before it is taken directly out of the building and onto vehicles that transport it to a disposal site. The material will not be transported through the school building, however, said Broderick. Several parents raised some questions about the project. They were concerned, they said, that the project would not be completed in time for the opening of school on Nov. 19, and that the site would not be cleaned and free of any contaminants in the air. Broderick assured the parents and the board that the time frame was adequate to complete the work. Continuous monitoring of air samples will ensure that the building will be safe for the students. In other business, the board discussed; •denied two requests from teachers for extended leaves of absence. They said requests raising concerns that the district was providing the longer le leaves too liberally. "These (extended leaves) tie the district up in terms of filling these positions," said Trustee Juliet Jordan Thompson. "It is difficult to get someone to work as a substitute for a year or a year and a half when they could be working somewhere else toward tenure." "Too easily, too many and too long," said interim Superintendent John Williams when asked by School Board President Michelle Sikhrangkur what he thought about the district's policy giving leaves of absence. "But that seems to be a practice," he said. School Board President Michelle Sikhrangkur said the board will accept requests for a shorter duration from the two e employees. •numerous appointments to fill coaching positions, prep courses and advisors for clubs. Trustee Diane Ecklinger said she believes the district should look for "the most qualified" person to fill coaching positions, regardless of whether they teach in the district. Lisa Kontente, the district's assistant to the superintendent for human resources, told the board that one of the questions asked of new hirees is if they have an experience beyond the classroom in areas such as athletics. That, she said, helps the district pull qualified people from its own staff to fill these posts.
The board will hold its regular business meeting tonight at which time it will vote on rest of the agenda discussed Nov. 7.
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