Facilities upgrades have begun at Burnet Hill, Hillside, and Livingston High Schools, according to Livingston Public Schools’ manager of buildings and grounds Jamie Perrette.
Interior renovations such as ceiling, lights and flooring patchwork scheduled for the summer are in progress to create additional classroom space. Perrette explained at the Tuesday, July 11, Board of Education meeting that walls are being taken down at each listed school, making two classrooms into one large room.
Renovations for Burnet Hill are anticipated to be complete by next week, and inspections are impending. Work at Hillside “shouldn’t take long,” Perrette said, and he expects interior work to be finished by the end of July.
“The architect is working with the engineers on the plumbing and electric side for the trailers and the modulars that are coming out,” he said.
Permit drawings for the modular units will be submitted by the end of this week or early next week, Perrette said.
Trailers are expected to come at the end of August. Once they arrive, plumbing and electrical work will need to be configured.
“That’s the wild part. When you’re digging in the ground, you never know what you’re going to find,” he said. “Other than that, we should have trailers here and ready to go.”
New Food Service
Livingston Public Schools will be partnering with Pomptonian Food Service, a school lunch provider, according to superintendent Matthew Block. This replaces the district’s present partnership with food service provider Aramark Corporation.
“It’s about providing the best for our students,” Block said. “We’re excited for this new partnership and everything they will bring to our schools.”
The new school lunch provider intends to bring “specific plan” for Livingston, Scott Triola, assistant director of operations, at Pomptonian Food Service said. This includes forming a committee in October to solicit feedback from parents, students and nurses. Triola also said that the service works off of a “farm-to-tray” framework, bringing fresh produce to the kitchen, and anticipates partnering with local farms to highlight grapes and corn on the cob this September.
Triola mentioned bringing diverse meal options to students, which would involve vegetarian and vegan selections. He explained that empanadas, Korean rice bowls, and Cuban paninis are popular within other school districts, and the Pomptonian team incorporates “build-your-ownmeal” days. This allows students to build their own burritos, for example, and take control over their food.
Pomptonian also plans to partner with local pizza and bagel shops, and is currently in conversation with the administration in bringingApple Pay to school cafeterias.
In response to Board member Parul Khemka’s concern about keeping food warm and at appropriate temperatures in buildings without a kitchen, Pomptonian’s president, Mark Vidovich, said that the team will bring all equipment necessary to maintain food safety.
A mid-year check-in was requested by Board member Seth Cohen.
Executive Session
Board members met in a closed, executive session before the regular meeting to discuss legal and student matters, according to Board secretary Thomas Lambe.
