Page 14 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II & IV • May 30, 2012 Guests at Midland Park High School’s graduation ceremonies on June 15 at the “Sonny” Santorine Athletic Field can rest assured they will have a place to sit, and it won’t be the old decaying bleachers. Those stands are being taken down this week, and portable structures will be erected instead. The board of education earlier this month purchased seating for 400 people from Highland Products at a cost of $31,242, with the installation costing $6,720. The demolition of the 50-plus year old stands is being done by Debyron’s Construction at a cost of $5000. The timely replacement of the stands also means that Olympic Day, scheduled for June 9, will be able to use the track as in previous years. The annual event is sponsored by the Midland Park Board of Recreation. The school board at first considered renting seating for the Class of 2012 graduation while it investigated permanent options in time for the fall sports season but decided that purchasing had greater long-term benefits. “The board considered all options, and the decision to purchase was based on cost vs. benefit,” said board President William Sullivan. “Renting for a couple of days High school graduates’ guests will have seating at graduation didn’t seem prudent when we have four baseball/softball fields, four soccer fields and a track where we can place these portable bleachers on an as-needed basis.” He added that in addition to school events, the borough’s recreation programs utilize the school fields heavily, and these bleachers will be a benefit to them as well. Sullivan said that the one-time rental alone would have cost $8,000 to $10,000, making the purchase of the portable stands more cost effective in tight budgetary times. The estimate to retrofit the existing stands was $115,000 but would not have been completed in time for graduation. The existing structure would then have been used, Sullivan said. Replacement of the existing bleachers would have been $250,000 to $300,000. The old bleachers were declared dangerous and permanently closed as of Wednesday, April 25. School officials explained that the decision to abandon the bleachers was made after an inspection by the district’s insurance carrier found them to be unsafe for occupancy. The previous practice had been to have the stands regularly inspected by the maintenance staff, who would replace any wooden planks that needed to be removed. New officer Newly-appointed probationary police officer Brendan Burke is sworn in by Midland Park Mayor Patrick “Bud” O’Hagan, as his parents, Bill and Ginny, hold the Bible. Burke, a graduate of the Passaic County Police Academy, which he attended through the alternate route program, was hired earlier this month to fill Chief John Casson’s spot on the 14-man force. A Hawthorne resident, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s in sports management from the University of New Haven, CT and had been working as a permanent substitute teacher/security officer at Hawthorne High School.