Purchase of MacBooks, Parking Lot Repairs Part of East Hampton Repair Reserve Spending

For the 10th time, the East Hampton Board of Education has authorized the use of its repair reserve fund to pay for various projects districtwide.

Items on the list include MacBook computers for high school students, middle school parking lot repairs, outdoor railing and exterior sign replacements and elementary school exterior door substitutions, among other projects and purchases totaling $642,658.

One of the biggest ticket items is the replacement of unrepairable Chromebooks with MacBook models permitted to be used by high school students for instructional purposes. The cost to replace this set totals $129,600.

The high school’s electric sign on Long Lane is also in need of replacement, as it no longer functions. The board approved swapping out the existing sign with one that is nonelectric for $81,000. Also approved at the high school was refurbishment and updating of the synchronized clock system for $51,527, exterior railing and metal painting for $46,591, tree trimming around sports field fencing for $16,794 and the replacement of the art department’s 44-inch large-format photo printer with a new model for $7,527.

The costliest item overall this time around is the sealcoating of the middle school parking lot. Select existing sidewalks, which are made of asphalt and cracked, will also be removed and replaced with concrete for $146,810. Middle school basement flooring also needs to be abated and replaced for $33,415.

Some exterior doors at John M. Marshall Elementary School, in particular the main entrance, are nearing the end of their useful life, and will be replaced with new versions for $81,000.

An athletic trainer cart was also approved to be purchased for $39,916, as the current vehicle no longer works and is unrepairable, and same for a snow plow, which will cost $8,478.

Voters approved the construction of a new repair reserve fund alongside the budget in May. The repair reserve, which acts as a savings account, is funded by unused budget dollars at the end of each fiscal year and can pay for up to $7.5 million worth of work over a 10-year period on things that are decayed, deteriorated, weathered, worn, torn, broken or inoperable. As of October 7, there was $2,720,273.45 remaining in the reserve.

Accessing the funds required a public hearing, which was held at the start of the October 21 meeting, before the board approved the withdrawal of repair reserve money for these projects.