Excavation on the site of the new Willis Avenue School should begin by Friday, according to assistant superintendent for business for the Mineola School District John Jackson.

On Thursday, prior to the board business meeting, district officials and school board members held a groundbreaking ceremony at the Willis Avenue School site to signify the beginning of the construction process.

Although there seemed to be a gap in time between the end of the demolition of the old building and the excavation of the site, Mr. Jackson said the project is on schedule and the district plans to have the school built by the end of July 2003 so that the district will have a full month to move into the building for the start of the 2003-2004 school year.

Holt Construction will act as the district construction manager, overseeing the project. The general contractor for the job is NRI Construction for a bid of $6,847,535. The contract for electric and fire alarms went to Roland's Electrical for $1,053,000. The contract for mechanical (HVAC) went to Sav-More Mechanical for $1,424,900 and the contract for the plumbing went to Rocon Plumbing for $384,496.20.

Mr. Jackson said the district has to go out to bid for technology items and a phone system, but even after awarding those bids, the district still expects to be $300,000 to $400,000 under budget. So far, every bid the district has opened has been under budget, Mr. Jackson said.

Thursday night marked the first board of education meeting for new assistant superintendent for curriculum and assessment Dom Mucci. The board of education adopted a policy dealing with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act for the disability harassment of students.

The board accepted with regret the resignation for the purposes of retirement for the following teachers who accepted the early retirement incentive effective August 30, 2002:

John Collins from the position of AV/TV Coordinator

John P.M. Ehrling from the position of H.S. math teacher

Denise Hampton from the position of H.S. English teacher

Fran Knabbe from the position of H.S. Drug and Alcohol counselor

Diane Lynch from the position of H.S. science teacher

Marshall R. Miller from the position of H.S. Tech/Driver Ed. teacher

Elizabeth O'Neill from the position of H.S. science teacher

James P. Smith from the position of H.S. English teacher

Phyllis Wald from the position of J.S. math teacher

Linda C. Forbell from the position of M.S. math teacher

William Bauer from the position of Meadow Learning Specialist

Helen O. Lynch from the position of Hampton 5th grade teacher

Diane Owen from the position of Hampton Art teacher

Jean Regelmann from the position of Hampton 1st grade teacher

Catherine Skopic from the position of Jackson Art teacher

The board also accepted the resignation of Patrick Patterson from the position of music teacher, Vaughn Fritts from the position of music teacher and Deborah Tommaso from the position of teacher assistant. These faculty members were not part of the early retirement incentive.

The board also accepted the resignation of Carole Abbatiello from the position of assistant district clerk. She also accepted an early retirement incentive.

The next workshop meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Mineola Middle School music room on Thursday, Sept. 5. The next business meeting will be held on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Mineola Middle School music room.