RHS Science Wing Project Takes Off

Scurrying to get their shovels ready before the skies opened, Rye City School District administrators, teachers, Board of Education members, and elected officials from both sides of the aisle joined together June 6 to officially break ground for construction of the high school’s science wing.

By Sarah Varney

State Senator George Latimer, Deputy Mayor Peter Jovanovich, and Armand Quadrini, lead architect from KSQ, along with representatives from the various contracting firms were among those attending.

Discussions and planning for the science wing began six years ago. The 23,000- square-foot wing is set for completion next fall.

Getting to this point wasn’t without obstacles. A bond referendum for $19.9 million was defeated in December 2011. A slimmed-down referendum for $16.3 passed in March 2012.

In a nod to those earlier obstacles, Board of Education President Laura Slack thanked the community for its support in her opening remarks. “We’re really excited to be doing this groundbreaking and we want to thank the community for making it possible,” she said.

School Superintendent Dr. Frank Alvarez began his remarks by acknowledging a variety of people, including Assistant Superintendent for Business Kathleen Ryan, Dr. Ed Shine (Dr. Alvarez’s predecessor), Rye High School Principal Patty Taylor and Rye Middle School Principal Dr. Anne Edwards. “I also want to acknowledge the hard work of former board members Josh Nathan and Ray Schmitt, who worked on this from the beginning, and George Latimer. Frankly, we fear our project would still be up in Albany if it weren’t for him,” he said.

Despite the long road from planning to groundbreaking, the wing will provide more learning opportunities for more students, said Dr. Alvarez. “Hopefully, this building will encourage more students to enter the science, engineering, and math professions,” he said.

admin