The first day of school is right around the corner, and Manhasset Superintendent Gaurav Passi said elementary enrollment is fulfilling the district’s expectations and meeting its class size standards.
Passi said at the Manhasset Board of Education meeting Tuesday night that the district’s enrollment projections “look good” across its two elementary schools.
At Shelter Rock Elementary School, each kindergarten class has 16 students enrolled. Four more students may join the district, bringing each classroom up to 17 if all four enroll.
Passi said this kindergarten enrollment is exactly what the district budgeted for.
The remaining grades at Shelter Rock Elementary all have class sizes that remain at or below 22 students.
In first grade, all classes are of 19 students, second grade has 18-19 students per class, third grade has 19-20 students per class, fourth and fifth grade has 20-21 students per class and sixth grade has 20-22 students per class.
There are pending registrations for all grades except for fifth, meaning some classes could increase by a maximum of one student.
At Munsey Park Elementary School, each of its five kindergarten classes has 17 students. Five more students may register before the first day, which would bring some classes to 18 students.
Class sizes for grades first through sixth are comparable to that at Shelter Rock, ranging from 17-22 students per class.
In first grade, class sizes range from 18-19 students, second and third grade has 19-20 students per class, fourth grade has 21-22 students per class, fifth grade has 20-21 students per class and sixth grade has 21-22 students per class.
There are no pending registrations for grades first through third, so class sizes would remain the same. For grades four and five, there is one pending registration for each grade and two pending registrations for the sixth grade.
Passi said no additional classes are planned to be added to either elementary school for any grades.
The district will welcome 3,000 students back to its schools for the first day of school on Tuesday.
In anticipation of the students’ arrival, Passi said the district is wrapping up some of its summer construction projects.
Construction that occurred over the summer at Munsey Park Elementary School included the replacement of its slate roof, library redesign, redesigning parking lot traffic flow, replacing belgian blocks with concrete curbing, installing bollards, repaving lots and replacing boilers.
Still under construction is the conversion of old locker rooms into group classrooms, which Passi said will be done by October. No classrooms are planned to be in those rooms at the start of the school year.
Other construction occurred district-wide under its energy performance contract.
Solar panels were installed on the roofs of all three of the district’s buildings and lighting was upgraded in the secondary school and at Shelter Rock Elementary.
Lighting updates are still underway at Munsey Park Elementary.
All construction under the energy performance contract is expected to be completed by mid-October, Passi said.
The district’s air conditioning project is still underway. Window units were installed at Shelter Rock Elementary, but window units were only installed in the new building portion of Munsey Park Elementary.
Window units will not be installed in the older portion of the school until next September, which Passi attributed to more work needed in its electrical wiring before being installed.