Riverhead schools approve $1.04 million in repairs for aging buildings

Riverhead school officials moved to fix four aging buildings without adding to next year’s tax burden, unanimously approving $1.041 million from a repair reserve for work at the Welcome Center, Riverhead Middle School, Phillips Avenue Elementary School and Pulaski Street Intermediate School. The vote came at a June 3 public hearing and regular meeting in the Riverhead Middle School Library at 600 Harrison Avenue, where the district focused on the sort of practical decisions parents and teachers notice first: heat, air quality, safe floors and stable staffing.

Assistant Superintendent for Business Marianne Cartisano said the repair reserve, created by the board in March 2017 and approved by voters in May 2017, can be used only for recurring repair and maintenance, not new construction. The reserve balance stood at $2,130,651, and Cartisano said the latest round of work should be finished by December or January without requiring a tax-rate increase.

The largest project is a $552,000 HVAC replacement at the Welcome Center, including condensers, electrical feeders, wiring, piping and a tie-in to the district’s building maintenance system. Riverhead Middle School is set for $39,000 in boiler work, Phillips Avenue Elementary School will see $75,000 spent to remove an abandoned hot water tank, and Pulaski Street Intermediate School will get a $375,000 flooring replacement in first- and second-floor hallways, the library and most offices.

The board also approved a round of staffing changes that will shape daily life in the schools. Bryan Miltenberg, principal of Aquebogue Elementary School, was appointed director of personnel effective July 1 at a salary of $189,000. Jaclyn Kenney was named elementary principal at $162,571, and Sarah Devita, Kristie Ramcharran and Deborah Smidt were appointed assistant principals at $144,851 each. The board also added Deanna Arndts and Jenna Vazquez as art teachers, along with Kayla Horn, Nicole Lent, Hannah Sobel and Christine Varvaro as elementary teachers.

On the academic side, trustees approved two new eighth-grade honors courses, a signal that Riverhead is still expanding classroom offerings while it manages older buildings and a changing staff. Parent questions during the meeting also touched on the district’s dual-language program and a Planned Parenthood classroom presentation, underscoring how curriculum decisions and family trust are now part of the same budget conversation.

That tension sits inside a larger financial picture. Riverhead Central School District has proposed a $218.9 million budget for 2026-27, a 3.52% increase that remains within the state tax levy cap, with about $40.2 million set aside for students with disabilities. Against that backdrop, the repair reserve lets the district handle aging infrastructure now, while keeping those costs off the operating levy and out of the classroom budget.