On Tuesday, Jan. 31, a schedule walk-through of Mineola High School was scheduled for any member of the public who would like to see the conditions of the school before the Feb. 28 bond referendum vote. The idea of scheduling the walk-through is to show members of the public that the upcoming bond referendum needs approval by voters to address repairs that have become absolutely necessary.

On Feb. 28, residents of the Mineola School District will be voting on a $10.45 million bond referendum to replace doors and windows in Mineola Middle School and Mineola High School, mandatory ventilation work at the middle school, complete renovation of the high school auditorium and roofs at the Jackson, Hampton and Cross Street schools.

Deputy superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler, who heads the school-community committee that recommended the bond to the Mineola Board of Education , describes it as a "no-frills bond," meaning there are no items within the bond that aren't absolutely necessary.

If the public was to pass the bond, the bond payments are expected to be made over the next 15 years, the length of the bond, with revenue generated from a lease agreement with Nextel for communication lines the district owns. The board feels that revenue will cover the payments so there will be no additional costs to the taxpayers. The school-community committee basically recommended the most essential projects the district could do with the money from Nextel.

Walking through the high school, there is little to no debate that the high school windows and doors are in dire need of replacement. Leaky windows in the high school have caused water damage to ceiling tiles in many areas while in others, during severe rainstorms, rags are placed to suck up the water coming in. In the auditorium, seats are ripped exposing springs while others seem unstable.

If there was ever a time for the school district to be desperate for a bond to pass, it's now. Board members have said the work has to be done even if the bond doesn't pass. But, said Dr. Larry Licopoli, superintendent of schools, "the bond makes the most financial sense."

If the bond referendum was to fail, the board would have to look at addressing the repairs in the budget. According to Dr. Nagler, if the bond was to pass, the district could have all the work completed by the end of 2007 whereas if the district was to address the repairs in future budgets, it could take years to complete. Administrators and board members also feel that getting the work done as soon as possible makes sound fiscal sense because the costs of doing these jobs are expected to increase each year.

A public walk-through of Mineola Middle School is scheduled for Feb. 9 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and the bond hearing is scheduled for Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the middle school library.