Rye Schools Present Science Wing Expansion Plan

Rye High School students will have brand new science laboratories to experiment in next year if all stays on schedule with the district’s expansion plans.

White Plains-based firm KSQ Architects presented their latest plans for the science wing expansion to the Rye City School District Board of Education last week.

The wing will contain eight chemistry/biology labs, four physics/life science labs, window benches, two workrooms a faculty bathroom and four student bathrooms. Four portable classrooms will be removed and parking spaces reclaimed.

The project will be funded by a $16 million bond referendum the public voted in favor of last spring.

Armand Quadrini, co-director of KSQ Northeast said that with the school board’s approval of the plans they will submit them to the New York State Department of Education by its Oct. 19 deadline.

Officials then expect the bidding and construction to begin by April, 2013. They expect to have the wing complete by the start of the 2013-2014 school year.

The project is at the 50 percent completion mark of the final design phase and bid preparation, and is within one percent of its planned budget, said Nick Andreadis, chief executive officer of Triton Construction.

School officials said that if the project is completed below budget, which seems possible, they may be able to use some of the bonded money to pay for new boys and girls locker rooms they had budgeted for separately. 

While the district waits for the state’s approval of the plans, KSQ will start working on the interior character of the project. They plan to work with various school groups to finalize site logistics.

View KSQ’s presentation here.

What do you think of the new science wing? Tell us in the comments.