The latest “information session” touted by the Greenburgh School District Board and their Superintendent, Dr Chase at the Highview School, found taxpayers wanting real, tangible and unencumbered answers to not only their questions, but for the limited information that was being proffered. This meeting was a mirror of the previous ones with a lot of the same players saying the same things. The problem is that the first few meetings fed them many of the objections and now armed with “ready-to-go” answers, they are able to quickly and deftly shut down anyone asking a question that might even allude to an objection. Most were concerned with the untenable tax increases that this $114.6 million bond, coupled with Mr Feiner’s $49 million bond, the regular school tax bill, the County tax increase, NYS funding reductions and, well, you get it. People will be foreclosed out of their homes so Dr Chase might have a legacy.
New York State law ties property taxes to the real market value of a home—roughly three percent-plus per $1,000, which would put yearly taxes on a million-dollar home somewhere north of $30,000. Few area residents ever complained that the last formal assessment having taken place was in the mid-1950s, artificially keeping valuations low until a home was sold. As a rule, that's the only time a re-evaluation would take place. Then in 2016, the Town of Greenburgh executed a full reassessment that hit villages like Irvington, Hastings and Dobbs Ferry like a sledgehammer.
Many homeowners saw their tax bills more than double! Thousands “grieved” their assessments, challenging the new values and pleading for relief. Only a fraction were successful, but Mr Feiner concocted a plan to lessen the blow and his current unpopularity. The town adopted a three-year graduated-payment system for those whose taxes had gone up by more than 25%. This put the burden on the remaining residents to make up for the savings given to those taxpayers.
As of this year, that stepped-relief plan has ended, and now everyone will be paying full assessed value. Many long-time residents have been driven to sell. Many in downtown neighborhoods that traditionally housed working-class families, sold not because they wanted to, but because they couldn’t afford to stay. As long as there were young families willing to pay top dollar, however, they were able to escape as the Ponzi scheme continues. But these were the villages, which seem to have more wealth than most parts of Unincorporated Greenburgh, with their own mayors and village boards, not Mr Feiner as their “mayor”.
With the initial proposal for the Greenburgh School Districts bond proposal referendum coming in at almost $166 million dollars, it was quickly pared down to be seemingly more palatable once it was realized the constituency could not afford it. “Reduced” to $114 million dollars, the School Board believed they could sell this to taxpayers. Enter the dynamic, well-spoken school superintendent, Dr Chase. She deftly handled many of the questions asked and using a plan directly from Mr Feiner’s playbook, easily deflected criticisms from the crowd. In fact, the first and second of these sessions fed her the objections and provided her and the school board ample time to craft answers for the next sessions. But it remained nothing but smoke and mirrors - just like the maintenance of our school buildings.
Saddled with the revaluation increases that many homeowners experienced, they are now dismayed by the new federal tax law that limits deductions of state and local taxes (SALT) to the first $10,000, a figure easily topped out by four out of five Westchester homeowners. Westchester home purchases, already with the highest property taxes in the nation, have plunged 18 percent, citing the limit on SALT deductions as a proximate cause, according to Bloomberg News.
Recently, Mr Feiner was quoted as being upset with the Governor's plans to cut state aid to Towns and Villages. "I think it’s wrong for the state to tell local governments to comply with the tax cap — to reduce property taxes — yet the state at the same time is cutting back their financial support, making it harder for local governments to comply," he said, adding the town would lose $409,765. Unincorporated taxpayers will be forced by Mr Feiner to make up that difference as he never cuts anything we can't afford. That is more bad news, along with the fact that Unincorporated Greenburgh Central School residents might soon be saddled with a whopping tax increase of a minimum of $800+ per year for single family homes should this referendum pass.
Add to that the yearly increases in Town, County, Fire, Sewer, SCHOOL and other districts’ taxes and many residents may be forced out of their homes. Let's not forget that 48% of Unincorporated Greenburgh's Fairview Fire District is tax exempt - so this will further hurt the people paying double of what they should have to carry the exempted properties. Finally, Mr Feiner has said he will be proposing a $49 million bond of his own to replace the Greenburgh Police headquarters and courts. That's over $163 MILLION in new bond-generated additional taxes for the next 15, 20 or 30 years!
We believe, as do many others, that Dr Chase and the Greenburgh School Board have not proposed this plan in earnest. Rather, they utilized the student population’s parents to get their first round of by-ins. Then they were about to take it to the streets, but it was too imposing and the necessary participation of the Woodlands High School was scrapped to lower the cost, once again kicking the can down the road. The Brighter United 2019 Capital Project News brochure was mailed out and handed out. There's even a display in the Greenburgh Town Library. What isn't on display or included in the brochures with all of this is any real information, figures, specifics and what those on fixed incomes, single parents, low-income parents, etc., will wind up needing to do should this referendum pass.
Sadly, as Mr Feiner has said and proven before, this bond will probably pass because many don't know the issues or study the proposals. They fall for the standard line, "It's for the children." Don't believe it. There is a good portion of Greenburgh residents who won’t see that this is a bad deal as they believe their kids will benefit from this project. Given the eight or so years that this project is proposed to take, most who have kids in these schools now will not benefit from this project. The school district, if it were a good one, could add to the attractiveness of moving to the Town. However, until that happens, we urge taxpayers to vote NO for this referendum. Diminished returns, dwindling enrollment, poor school board management and superior private school competition make this proposal unacceptable. We urge the school board, district and superintendent to scrap this plan. In the absence of that we urge taxpayers to vote NO. Then, we implore them to work intimately with the community to craft a solution that doesn’t bankrupt homeowner and business taxpayers. It’s the only way to get A Better Greenburgh.
Monday, February 25, 2019
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
New Information Sessions Dates Added For School Bond Referendum
Many of our readers are nervous and extremely concerned about the $114.6 million school bond referendum that the Greenburgh Central School District is pushing. Why? Because a $400,000 home that is within the Greenburgh School District will see their taxes increase by about $800 per year! But according to the pro-bond proponents, this is good and will raise the value of our homes. Really?
Many seniors who are on a fixed income, are unsure how they will be able to pay this new increase. Dr Chase and our school board are clearly not concerned about them. If they were, they would be addressing alternatives. Rather than admit failure in running the school district, they prefer use one of Mr Feiner’s old and reliably tricks: deflection. This isn't about their failures as a Board, or that they intentionally neglected maintenance to the schools, or that kids learn better in a new environment. In fact, many teachers have readily admitted that while a new building would be nice, if the teachers have the kids engaged, they will learn and prosper. The brochure that the school district has produced shows a 96% graduation rate in 2018, 90% of graduates go to college along with a few other vague statistics.
If teaching Mandarin is so important, why aren’t other schools teaching it? Trendsetters you say? How about getting things to run well and then we can see about going down new and unproven avenues. Regardless of what we say, even though the numbers in our articles are real, come out and find out for yourselves. See below for the next meeting dates.
Classroom Warfare or Just Bullying
There seems to be a lot of class warfare going on in society nowadays, fueled by self-appointed community leaders and especially the media - whether you believe them to be fake or not. We're always hopeful that true community leaders will do what's necessary to help our neighborhoods and its residents. Some of our community leaders seem less concerned about the community members and more about what they want. With Mr Feiner and his Board, it's all about being re-elected and making sure they don't lose their full-time salaries for part-time work. For others, it's about a legacy.
During the month of January, Greenburgh School Superintendent Dr Chase began a series of presentations about the referendum for the bond that she, along with our elected school board wanted to undertake. We missed the first meeting, but have made the last two and would have made the next two had they not been postponed. There is yet another meeting being held on Thursday night, February 7, at the Theodore Young Community Center at 7 pm off of Manhattan Avenue.
We've previously written about the last two meetings, noting that they were very different in several ways. They were both held in the auditorium at the RJ Bailey School. This one was on a Saturday at 10 am, under the guise of "hearing the community" because many people could not always make evening meetings for a host of reasons. Fair enough. Unlike school which has a finite start and end time, this meeting apparently did not and started late. Yet, once the meeting had started, introductions were quickly made. The previous evening meeting found Dr Chase making introductions at some length. It seems there were a lot of Greenburgh Central School District teachers, administrative personnel, Board members and such in the audience. Here's a thought, ask all of those people to stand, quickly identify them and then start the meeting.
Two presentations had been utilized in those two meetings. The first one was longer and more comprehensive than the second one. We wonder what is in store for the next meeting? Either way, we hope those attendees will be getting more information instead of less. We also hope that the new practice of shutting down the voice of the people will not be done again. At the evening meeting residents and taxpayers were allowed to speak, ask questions, make comments and have somewhat of a dialog with the $114.6 million referendum bond proponents. While many were protesting, others were in favor while still others were on the fence. Hearing what neighbors, not necessary employees, have to say may be helpful to the undecided.
So, the Saturday meeting found the dialog removed. Gone. Now they handed out 3x5 inch index cards and asked for participants to write down and submit their questions. The audience was told they would go through them on the bus ride to the Highview School and to the Woodlands High School. That did not happen! It was already noted that this entire plan seemed well-crafted to keep the voting public in the dark about this entire event. Now it seems that the questions and comments were too much for the pro-bond sponsors. In fact, when the ABG publisher was questioning an answer from a school board member, a gentleman in a tan suit came over and tried to stop the board member from responding!
In addition to the ignored school maintenance, the enrollment in the district of 1,757 in 2015-2016 went down in 2017-2018 to 1,734. Certainly not a major shift but indicative of a trend that was also reported in the Friday Journal News (as well as other publications) entitled, High School Graduation Rates Dip Across Westchester. "Westchester County's overall high school graduation rate for the class of 2018 dipped slightly compared to the year before, with several school districts also seeing notable declines. The Bedford school district saw a 7 percent dip in their graduation rate between 2017 and 2018, the largest decline in the county. In Bedford, 84 percent of students graduated in 2018, down from 91 percent in 2017. The state data also shows that the Greenburgh school district saw a 7 percent dip in its graduation rate, going from 88 percent in 2017 to 81 percent in 2018, but these figures are being disputed by district officials."
Dr Chase dismissed the findings as an error in reporting methodology that she was working to "correct the apparent discrepancy in the data reporting." This piece of information couldn't come at a more inopportune time for her. Ironically, we were researching just this topic as one reader asked us about declining enrollment in general and in the northeast in particular. Further digging found that the exodus of school children is directly linked to an exodus from the incredibly highly-taxed states, such as New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. No surprise there as study after study explain that taxpayers are voting with their feet. Perhaps this should be seen as a warning salvo to Dr Chase?
A reader who was in support of the bond issue made these points nevertheless:
- Does Greenburgh Central School District (GCSD) have any enrollment studies about enrollment projections?
- Birth rates are at a 30-year low;
- Immigration seems to be slowing;
- NYS continues to lose population;
- GCSD appears to be losing enrollment for at least 3 consecutive years;
- Enrollment has dropped from Kindergarten through 12th;
- NYSED clearly indicates even the Latin student numbers, traditionally steady or increasing, have decreased;
All valid points. And while the questions are abundant, the answers are not. Should Greenburgh build this new mega-campus, will we have the student body to sustain it? There has not been any information forthcoming from the school district to substantiate the pro-bond proponents' claims. Another parent also in favor commented that while he sees a need for maybe a 10, 20, and 30-year plan for the district, the secrecy and lack of tangible information is forcing him to oppose this.
Recently, Mr Feiner was quoted as being upset with the Governor's plans to cut state aid to Towns and Villages. "I think it’s wrong for the state to tell local governments to comply with the tax cap — to reduce property taxes — yet the state at the same time is cutting back their financial support, making it harder for local governments to comply," said Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, adding the town would lose $409,765. That bad news, along with the fact that Unincorporated Greenburgh Central School residents might soon be saddled with a whopping tax increase of a minimum of $800+ per year for single family homes! Add to that the yearly Town, County, Fire, Sewer and other district taxes and many residents may be forced out of their homes. Let's not forget that 48% of unincorporated Greenburgh's Fairview Fire District is tax exempt - so this will further hurt the people paying double of what they should have to carry the exempted properties. Finally, Mr Feiner has said he will be proposing a $49 million bond of his own to replace the Greenburgh Police headquarters and courts. That's over $163 MILLION in additional taxes!
Two meetings have recently been cancelled due to the cold weather and yet things are certainly heating up. There has only been one counter-proposal to the $114.6 million bond option and that is to do repairs by passing a different bond issue for $79 million. Surely, our school board can draw up some alternative ideas even though they helped to put us in this mess? While we are offended by Dr Chase's cavalier approach to what this will cost residents, not many of us make the $313k per year that she does and can easily afford a specialty coffee each day or to go out to dinner once a week as she apparently does and still have money left for necessities. This mindset must change. Alternatives that are not do-or-die must be researched and all facts and figures communicated in an open and clear fashion. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.
During the month of January, Greenburgh School Superintendent Dr Chase began a series of presentations about the referendum for the bond that she, along with our elected school board wanted to undertake. We missed the first meeting, but have made the last two and would have made the next two had they not been postponed. There is yet another meeting being held on Thursday night, February 7, at the Theodore Young Community Center at 7 pm off of Manhattan Avenue.
We've previously written about the last two meetings, noting that they were very different in several ways. They were both held in the auditorium at the RJ Bailey School. This one was on a Saturday at 10 am, under the guise of "hearing the community" because many people could not always make evening meetings for a host of reasons. Fair enough. Unlike school which has a finite start and end time, this meeting apparently did not and started late. Yet, once the meeting had started, introductions were quickly made. The previous evening meeting found Dr Chase making introductions at some length. It seems there were a lot of Greenburgh Central School District teachers, administrative personnel, Board members and such in the audience. Here's a thought, ask all of those people to stand, quickly identify them and then start the meeting.
Two presentations had been utilized in those two meetings. The first one was longer and more comprehensive than the second one. We wonder what is in store for the next meeting? Either way, we hope those attendees will be getting more information instead of less. We also hope that the new practice of shutting down the voice of the people will not be done again. At the evening meeting residents and taxpayers were allowed to speak, ask questions, make comments and have somewhat of a dialog with the $114.6 million referendum bond proponents. While many were protesting, others were in favor while still others were on the fence. Hearing what neighbors, not necessary employees, have to say may be helpful to the undecided.
So, the Saturday meeting found the dialog removed. Gone. Now they handed out 3x5 inch index cards and asked for participants to write down and submit their questions. The audience was told they would go through them on the bus ride to the Highview School and to the Woodlands High School. That did not happen! It was already noted that this entire plan seemed well-crafted to keep the voting public in the dark about this entire event. Now it seems that the questions and comments were too much for the pro-bond sponsors. In fact, when the ABG publisher was questioning an answer from a school board member, a gentleman in a tan suit came over and tried to stop the board member from responding!
In addition to the ignored school maintenance, the enrollment in the district of 1,757 in 2015-2016 went down in 2017-2018 to 1,734. Certainly not a major shift but indicative of a trend that was also reported in the Friday Journal News (as well as other publications) entitled, High School Graduation Rates Dip Across Westchester. "Westchester County's overall high school graduation rate for the class of 2018 dipped slightly compared to the year before, with several school districts also seeing notable declines. The Bedford school district saw a 7 percent dip in their graduation rate between 2017 and 2018, the largest decline in the county. In Bedford, 84 percent of students graduated in 2018, down from 91 percent in 2017. The state data also shows that the Greenburgh school district saw a 7 percent dip in its graduation rate, going from 88 percent in 2017 to 81 percent in 2018, but these figures are being disputed by district officials."
Dr Chase dismissed the findings as an error in reporting methodology that she was working to "correct the apparent discrepancy in the data reporting." This piece of information couldn't come at a more inopportune time for her. Ironically, we were researching just this topic as one reader asked us about declining enrollment in general and in the northeast in particular. Further digging found that the exodus of school children is directly linked to an exodus from the incredibly highly-taxed states, such as New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. No surprise there as study after study explain that taxpayers are voting with their feet. Perhaps this should be seen as a warning salvo to Dr Chase?
A reader who was in support of the bond issue made these points nevertheless:
- Does Greenburgh Central School District (GCSD) have any enrollment studies about enrollment projections?
- Birth rates are at a 30-year low;
- Immigration seems to be slowing;
- NYS continues to lose population;
- GCSD appears to be losing enrollment for at least 3 consecutive years;
- Enrollment has dropped from Kindergarten through 12th;
- NYSED clearly indicates even the Latin student numbers, traditionally steady or increasing, have decreased;
All valid points. And while the questions are abundant, the answers are not. Should Greenburgh build this new mega-campus, will we have the student body to sustain it? There has not been any information forthcoming from the school district to substantiate the pro-bond proponents' claims. Another parent also in favor commented that while he sees a need for maybe a 10, 20, and 30-year plan for the district, the secrecy and lack of tangible information is forcing him to oppose this.
Recently, Mr Feiner was quoted as being upset with the Governor's plans to cut state aid to Towns and Villages. "I think it’s wrong for the state to tell local governments to comply with the tax cap — to reduce property taxes — yet the state at the same time is cutting back their financial support, making it harder for local governments to comply," said Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, adding the town would lose $409,765. That bad news, along with the fact that Unincorporated Greenburgh Central School residents might soon be saddled with a whopping tax increase of a minimum of $800+ per year for single family homes! Add to that the yearly Town, County, Fire, Sewer and other district taxes and many residents may be forced out of their homes. Let's not forget that 48% of unincorporated Greenburgh's Fairview Fire District is tax exempt - so this will further hurt the people paying double of what they should have to carry the exempted properties. Finally, Mr Feiner has said he will be proposing a $49 million bond of his own to replace the Greenburgh Police headquarters and courts. That's over $163 MILLION in additional taxes!
Two meetings have recently been cancelled due to the cold weather and yet things are certainly heating up. There has only been one counter-proposal to the $114.6 million bond option and that is to do repairs by passing a different bond issue for $79 million. Surely, our school board can draw up some alternative ideas even though they helped to put us in this mess? While we are offended by Dr Chase's cavalier approach to what this will cost residents, not many of us make the $313k per year that she does and can easily afford a specialty coffee each day or to go out to dinner once a week as she apparently does and still have money left for necessities. This mindset must change. Alternatives that are not do-or-die must be researched and all facts and figures communicated in an open and clear fashion. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.
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