Riverhead schools approve $27.5 million energy upgrades with no tax increase

Riverhead school officials approved financing for a $27.5 million energy performance contract they say will upgrade eight schools without raising the property-tax burden on local homeowners.

The Board of Education selected TD Bank to finance the work after proposals also came in from Bank of America and Capital One. District officials have said the project is built around guaranteed energy savings, with state building aid expected to cover about 37.6 percent of eligible costs and rebates and incentives projected at about $5.7 million. In budget materials for the 2026-27 spending plan, the district described the contract as a no-taxpayer-funding item paid through energy savings.

The package reaches deep into the district’s buildings and systems. It includes 34 separate upgrades, among them solar photovoltaic arrays at seven school buildings, six of them mounted on parking-lot carports, plus one ground-mounted array at Phillips Avenue Elementary School. The plan also calls for LED lighting in every building, boiler and burner replacements, new natural gas service for Phillips Avenue and Riley Avenue, building-management system improvements, new unit ventilators at two schools, transformer replacements, weatherization and insulation work, and high-efficiency pumps, motors, software and controls intended to trim electricity use from computers, air-conditioning and other equipment.

The financing comes after Riverhead issued an energy-performance-contract request for proposals in February 2025, with bids due March 13, 2025. New York State Education Department guidance describes energy performance contracting as a recognized tool public school districts and BOCES can use to implement energy-saving procedures, giving the Riverhead plan a broader policy framework as the district turns capital work into an operating-cost strategy.

The board meeting also brought a leadership change at Roanoke Elementary School. Jessica Farmer, now listed in district staff directories as assistant principal at Pulaski Street School, will become Roanoke’s principal when the current principal retires at the end of the school year. Pulaski Street School serves 800 fifth- and sixth-grade students and was built in 1938 as the district’s first high school, a reminder of how long Riverhead’s aging buildings have shaped budget choices.

Trustees also approved the 2026-27 BOCES administrative budget, voted on BOCES board candidates, accepted the results of a special district meeting for the Riverhead Public Library and Baiting Hollow Public Library, and appointed election workers for the annual district vote. Residents will go to Riverhead High School on May 19, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., to vote on the proposed 2026-27 budget and fill four board seats.