School Board Discusses Proposing Defeated Bond In May

The School Board’s referendum bond proposal was defeated by a wide margin of Greenburgh School District voters during Tuesday’s vote. The final tally was 1,257 (35.5%) in favor and 2,284 (64.5%) against the proposal, with a difference of 1,027 votes against. The taxpaying public, including some students’ parents, voted overwhelmingly to stop this project. There are roughly 1800 kids in our district’s schools. Assuming that there is a variety of dual and single-parent households, some with one child, some with more, there could be an equal number of parents that would have voted. It’s apparent that while many student parents favored this, some of those parents did not. 

This was a record setting turnout vote for the Greenburgh School District. In our previous article we mentioned that the Board and Dr Chase poked a sleeping giant. People who usually don’t bother coming out to vote for school board events obviously had had enough. 

The various Greenburgh Civic Associations within the School District were invited by Dr Chase on November 7, 2018 to join her on November 14, 2018, “... for delectable treats at my Superintendent’s Dessert... The Superintendent’s Dessert will be a combined gathering with the Community Engagement Committee.” The meeting was to discuss the progress of the schools and status of the facilities. See below:

The back side of the letter was a flyer asking to please join them for Dessert & Discussion. The key point was conversations about our latest initiatives, which one would have to go there to learn about. See below:

So an effort was made back in November to feed dessert to community leaders without actually revealing much if anything about the gist of the meeting. Those we discussed this with felt at the time it would be a waste of time as having dessert with the Superintendent, while pleasant, was imposing on their already busy schedules with no fruitful reason to do so. Little would they know.

Having just been handed a humiliating defeat at the hands of the sleeping giant, the School Board refuses to take “No!” for an answer and we’re told at their Board meeting they contemplate proposing a reintroduction of the Referendum Bond yet again in May when the school budget vote comes around! They’ve done this before when their budgets were voted down. They would state that they would have to adopt an austerity budget  “to get by” cutting busing and sports. They are well practiced with the “austerity argument”, having learned and provide a response claiming their hands were tied and they would have to rework the budget. Then what they did was reintroduce the same budget that would not get much exposure and usually passes. Is that the ploy here?

Several other issues relating to this failed proposal need clarification , such as Trustee Terry Williams’  apparent illegal blast email from his official School Board email account to the residents to vote for this proposal as well as his robo call. School Board members are prohibited from actively promoting certain things, such as this type of proposal. Honest mistake? Perhaps if this were a new Board member we might believe so, but Mr Williams has been on the Board as well as been President during a fifteen year tenure.

Then there’s the offer to bus people to the Woodlands High School from the Theodore Young Community Center on the Royal Coach buses. See below. Royal Coach is the bus company that is used by the School District to bus our students. We’re all for helping people get to the polls but if someone “put the arm” on the bus company or requested it with payment coming from the District funds, we deserve to know as well as know by whom.

The mantra the School Board members used every time they were challenged about past performance was, “That was the old Board, not us. This is the new Board.” Dr Chase also repeatedly stated, “We’re moving forward. That was a previous administration. we’re moving forward.” True, it was an old administration and a partially new School Board. But it’s still the same old taxpayers being disrespectfully treated. Old Board indeed! 

If you want to work with us, we’re willing to have an open an honest dialog. And just because “your side” disagrees with the “other side” doesn’t mean you try to shut them down. There’s no rush here if we are going to do things correctly, which means ALL of the facts and figures should be transparently presented to all of the School District’s residents. Let’s all stop the phony arguments and plan something that we all can get behind. It’s the only way we’ll get A Better Greenburgh School District.

Poking A Sleeping Giant

The School Board’s dream of having one campus on the Warburg property was defeated by a wide margin of Greenburgh School District voters on Tuesday. The final tally is 1,257 (35.5%) in favor and 2,284 (64.5%) against the proposal, with a difference of 1,027 votes against. That’s a significant amount of votes! Dr Chase was quoted in a statement saying, “Although we are disappointed in the outcome of our Capital Project vote, we are unbowed in our determination to improve our school surroundings and the education of our precious students. I am humbled by the massive turnout, and I respect our community’s decision."

Humbled? She should be embarrassed. And, there’s that word again, respect. It was the one thing that appeared missing during many of the meetings as Dr Chase, the primary moderator for the “information sessions”, chose to brush past questions raised by the very concerned taxpayers, telling them their 2-minutes were up and to let others have their turn to speak. While this may work well for her in a school environment, the stakeholders for all of this deserved better. Instead of trying to shut residents down, she should have embraced them. She did not. Had they been open and transparent with all the facts & figures to all the GCSD residents from the start of this proposal, maybe the outcome would have been different. Respect.

Then there’s the issue of the School Board’s questionable behavior during this entire event. At first they remained silent except when Dr Chase introduced them and other employees, educators, students, former students, parents of students and others in attendance who favored the proposal. While it’s nice to have a packed audience, it seemed there were more employees and Board members than the residents these sessions were designed to inform. We have maintained as the opposition’s voice grew, “running out the clock” became more and more prevalent at these meetings. So, not only was valuable time eaten away with introductions, accolades and anecdotal stories, but the 2-minute limit was strictly adhered to unless the speaker had something in support of or in favor to say about the proposal.

On the evening before the vote, Trustee Terry Williams used the Greenburgh School District email to send an email to residents asking them to vote yes for the proposal. This is clearly in violation of the law. Yet after he made sure his message was sent, he later cried mea-culpa begging forgiveness for using the wrong email account. We don’t buy it. He has been a Board member and even President for far too long to not realize what he was doing. He should at least be reprimanded for this action and possibly removed from the Board. They’ve poked a sleeping giant with this proposal. We’re sure that potential candidates are being solicited to change the makeup of the Board. It's time.

Contrary to finding excuses that bemoan the victory by those opposed to this proposition, there is little solace in this otherwise hollow victory. What the majority said was no to moving forward with this idea, but recognize that the buildings still need attention. To what level remains the uncertain. We believe many conditions were thrown into the mix to validate the proposal’s urgency. Some might otherwise remain dormant and able to be addressed in a more planned and scheduled fashion. Perhaps now the School Board, flaws and all, Dr Chase and others will work in concert with us. Mr Falcone, who seemed open and honest during these events, should discuss building needs with everyone and detail the emergency needs, would-like-to-haves and the can-wait-to-haves. Then maybe we can discuss a plan of attack that will accomplish what we all want: A Better Greenburgh School District.

Taxpayers Speak Loudly And Say, "NO"

Awaiting the outcome of today's Greenburgh School Referendum Bond Vote has been a roller-coaster of a ride for many with vested interest in the results. But with a final tally of 1,219 in favor and 2,101 against, Dr Chase's legacy proposal crashed and burned. Residents of the Greenburgh School District handed her a resounding defeat, even factoring in the 244 absentee ballots, enough people said, "No!" by participating in this historic, record setting vote. Rarely can we recall seeing this kind of turnout.

Once the dust settles, we implore the School Board to actively and earnestly seek to work with the resident taxpayers, the real stakeholders, by putting all of their cards on the table, openly and honestly, and look to develop a plan that will not cripple the taxpayers, our schools and not rely on talent shows and obfuscation to make a change for our future.

We will follow up with more information as this story progresses. It's how we'll get A Better Greenburgh School District.

Vote NO!

Talent Show Scheduled, Opposition Member Threatened, A Failing Grade

We’ve readily admitted that Greenburgh School Superintendent Chase is a dynamic personality. She’s also very smart. As the referendum proposal supporters encounter more and more resistance from the community, they keep dropping back and regrouping. We keep digging in and writing about it. Armed with real information, those against the referendum proposal have been exposing the flaws in what little has been presented to the public. But Dr Chase needs this win. It’s her and the Board’s legacy. So in a move right out of another School District’s play book, she has scheduled a Talent Show for Tuesday night (tomorrow) at the Woodlands High School to ensure that parents will be in attendance to vote. What it doesn’t ensure is that they will vote in favor of it.

ABG now has learned that a bond supporter has threatened an opposition member because they received an unsolicited email containing a flyer from concerned citizens stating facts regarding the referendum bond proposal to Vote No. What hasn’t happened thus far from the School Board or the supporters is an explanation with a detailed plan of what they want to do with costs and real figures attached to it. Why have they purposely remained obscure about all of this? We believe there is something amiss. But more importantly, why threaten someone over an unwanted email? Their claim was that the GBList was used. That person is correct. There have also been robo calls to everyone and there haven't been any threats made over that.

As one of the interested parties in the GBList lawsuit, ABG as well as many civic associations felt handicapped in getting information to affected parties when Mr Feiner would do one of his email blasts. Specifically, this happened during the GameOn 365 assault on the Worthington Woodlands community. What was frustrating to all of us was that Mr Feiner had been compiling this list under the auspices of the Town, using it for Town email notifications and to push his own views on GameOn 365 and other topics. Everyone involved felt there often needed to be clarification, explanation or elaboration of points he was making. To that end, we decided to go to court.

A suit was filed. The courts found in our favor. We could access the list through the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) but could not use it for political or commercial purposes. In fact, Mr Feiner has said, “In 2014 the town lost a lawsuit and was ordered by the courts to release our glist emails to those who asked for the lists. The lawsuit was actually filed by a leader of one of the civic associations. It’s been given out over the past 5 years to those who have filed a freedom of info request. We do not break down the email addresses by school district or by individual addresses.” He is correct, they do not. So if someone received the email from those against the referendum bond proposal, it was strictly to offer information not presented by the School Board. They were not singled out nor could they be.

The School Board has brought this problem unto themselves. They originally decided in December to hold a bond vote in February, when many snowbirds are not in the area or the frigid weather would keep many home. That planned backfired. They rescheduled the vote for tomorrow. There has been even more push-back than before. The cost has been reduced two times and their final figure remains at $114.6 million for 30 years, approximately $840 per single family homeowner for 30 years. That's in addition to the regular school district taxes. They’ve claimed that figure includes the interest but the NYS Board of Educations facts and figures shows an additional $84 million, giving us a real figure of $198.6 over 30 years. They claim the opposition people are wrong. When someone says they’ve lost our trust, they say it wasn’t them, it was the old Board. Sorry, but as the same old taxpayer, you can’t have it both ways. This debacle is on you!

Too many questions remain unanswered or poorly answered with this referendum bond proposal. Even if it had been a stellar plan, this School Board has failed. The plan gets a failing grade, the School Board gets a failing grade and the School Administration gets a failing grade. We urge the voters - the true stakeholders in all of this - to turn down this proposition. It doesn't mean we don’t want to plan for the future. It just means we want to be a part of it. Yes, we usually do it for the children. This time let’s do it for the children and their families so they can stay in their homes and still afford to go to our schools. It's how we’ll get A Better Greenburgh.

A Satirical Look As The Fly On The Wall

We imagine being a fly on the wall in a satirical look at a meeting where the School Board, Superintendent and several employees got together to discuss a strategy to push forth with consolidation and ultimately the bond referendum. Here’s how we imagine it might have gone:

“We know we want this consolidation. Now, how do we make it happen?”

“I’ve been on the Board for years, we’ll propose a bond. We’ll say it’s for the children and it’ll go through. The residents eat up that ‘for the children’ argument, it’ll be easier than you think.”

“Who could be the voice for it?”

“We’ll find someone to use as the front. Our hands will be clean.”

“Dr Chase can proctor the meetings. Get it, the school terminology?” 

“But what if they have questions about the Board?”

“Easy, we’ll say it wasn’t us, it was a previous Board.”

“What if they bring up the cost of the loan? “

“And the interest?”

“We’ll just say it’s for the principle.”

“The interest on the loan is on the NYS BoE website, no?”

“Just say it’s for the principle. Keep saying it’s for the principle.”

“Hey, talk about transition. That’s not something that can be quantified.”

“Yeah, and that new buildings don’t need maintenance.”

“About that, what if they bring up the lack of maintenance to the buildings?”

“Pay attention. It wasn’t us.”

“Yeah, but weren’t you two guys there?” 

“What if they bring up the bad image of Woodlands, the fights, the stabbings?”

“Focus on the younger grades.”

“Let’s tout some information that makes us look good.”

“Like...?”

“96% of Woodlands seniors graduate.”

“What if they ask about the others?”

“Not everybody graduates. Get over it. It’s a fact of life.”

“Use the Mandarin agenda. I just don’t know if that’ll fly with President Trump and the China stuff that’s happening.”

“This is Greenburgh, its all democrats. Don’t worry about him.”

“How about our SAT scores. They’re below college readiness?”

“Just say we’re working to raise them. We have tutoring and special prep classes.”

“What if they question needing tutoring and special prep classes?”

“Grades 3-8 have a 35% proficiency in math and English.” What do we say to that?”

“(Chuckle)C'mon people. That’s why they’re in school, to learn. We’re working on that too with prep and special instruction classes. We’re working to produce world class students.”

“People are fleeing New York State in record numbers. Enrollment everywhere is declining. What do we say to that?”

“Try saying this: This will raise property values and bring people to our Town and schools.”

“Really?”

“It could work.”

“You just have to sell it.”

“Push that we have good teachers.”

“We do have good teachers.”

“Push it.”

“What if they bring up the past superintendent, what’s his name?”

“It wasn’t us, it was a previous Board.”

“Ronald Ross.”

In unison, “It wasn’t us.”

“New buildings will be nice. Can we get some of those soft, eye catching watercolor pictures from the architects to use?”

“Yes! Good idea. That always works on the Town Board. They’ll approve anything with a pretty picture.”

Good point. You know Supervisor Feiner is looking to put up his own bond for $49 million dollars.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, he wants to replace the police station and courts and was going to do a referendum this year too.”

‘This sucks.”

“Don’t worry, this will pass. We just need to make sure we get the parents out to vote.”

“I have an idea.”

“Open to anything at this point.”

“Why not have a talent show that night at the high school. Parents and their kids will come and we’re guaranteed to get them to vote!”

“Excellent!”

“Let’s do it, it’s brilliant!”

“Getting back to the topic at hand, should we order pizza?”

“We’re allowed to.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“I have a different issue I want to discuss.”

“Go ahead.”

“What if they bring up the seniors or fixed-income folks and their inability to afford this?”

“They’ll move.”

“You still don’t understand the dynamic here, do you?”

“Huh?”

“In order for us to get what we want, we need kids in the district. Legals, illegals, it doesn’t matter. Feiner has made this a sanctuary Town. That means everyone gets to stay wherever they are and come to us for a free education.”

“Pay attention to what I'm going to say. Senior citizens live here. Their taxes go up and their fixed incomes don’t. When it gets to be more than they can bear, they sell their homes and move out. The new people who can afford to buy a house, do. Then they simply include their taxes in their mortgage payment and they don’t even know what they’re paying in taxes. It’s a veritable legal Ponzi scheme”

“It’s like what we’re doing with the $114.6 and not saying anything about the $83 million dollars in interest.”

“About that. I’m still confused about how much we are actually borrowing if the $114.6 includes the interest. It seems like it would be less than the $79 million figure we’ve said is needed to refurbish.”

“Who did this math?”

“Dunno.” 

“Seriously, how can the $114.6 million include the interest? Is that what we are borrowing or the amount we’re paying off? And what about increased traffic?”

“We don’t control the roadways. New York State and the Town do.”

“Yeah but it’s bound to come up.”

“Again, just say it isn’t us. We can skate on most of this traffic stuff.”

“There is a Town traffic study that goes against ours. It isn’t helping us.”

“We can get traffic studies to say whatever we want. Don’t worry about that.”

“Is there anything else we can brag about?”

“How about 90% of our graduates go onto college?”

“Yeah, that works.”

“What else?”

“C’mon, we need more. 

“We have a secondary honors program.”

“I still don’t know what that means…”

“We have an Elementary Advanced Learning Program.”

“Talk about how selling Highview And Bailey will bring in $20 million dollars that we can use toward Woodlands.”

“What if we don’t get $20 million dollars?”

“Not our problem. We can say the market dropped or there was more remediation needed than we planned for.”

“I’m not comfortable with doing that.”

“Talk about having an expanded Pre-K program that goes all day.”

“Can everyone use it?”

“Of course not. It’ll be the same as what we have now except it’ll go all day. Doubt we can add anyone else to it.”

“If they ask about the new auditorium and sports press box, what do we say?”

“This is going to be a state-of-the-art facility. Don’t our children deserve this?”

“How can we counter someone who says the kids are already doing well in the current facilities?”

“Just imagine how much better they could be doing.”

“So, just how bad off are these buildings that haven’t been maintained?”

“Hey, they work. We can swap out windows, doors, boilers and roofs and be much better off for less. But we want new. New is better. That has to be our mantra.”

“Ok, let’s take it to the streets.”

“Meeting adjourned. Where’s that pizza?”

Happy St Patrick's Day

Do It For The Children AND the Taxpayer

Make a difference. We’re all told that we matter, have value, are important and we can make a difference in our lives, touch the lives of others and quite possibly change the world. Reality, however, doesn’t always play along or allow that to happen. And yet, many do find ways to make that difference. Some volunteer in their fire department, at a clinic, a pet sanctuary and some run for office. There are different kinds of office. In Greenburgh, you can earn a ridiculous sum of money working very part-time as an elected Town Board member or even Supervisor. You can be on a Fire District Board with no compensation. You can also be on the School Board, also with no compensation. What you are not taught is how to budget your money, live within your means and adjust your finances when necessary so you do not go into debt. Perhaps they should teach a class in Life 101.

For many attending the School Board Referendum Bond meetings, we sat in wonderment as we were told information offered by others about the $114.6 million school bond referendum vote were lies. We were told that some people out there were giving incorrect information. One thing is certain, in these digital times everyone has access to information like never before. Yet, there is a plethora of information not being offered to the taxpaying public from the School Board regarding this bond proposal. Many people have gone on their own to find out what they could about this proposal, ABG included. Say what they will, but the information we’ve been providing was acquired the old fashioned way: digging into records.

Numerous ABG staffers and others have been gaining more and more insight into the bond proposal without much assistance from the School Board. One staffer had seen the budget for the upcoming year on their web site at $71 million dollars. Yet, during the meeting held at the Lee F Jackson School on Wednesday night, Dr Chase asked Ms O’Neil if she knew what the budget amount was? In an obviously well-rehearsed back and forth, she said she did not. So Dr Chase continued to over-emphasize the fact that the budget was not posted and Ms O’Neil dutifully stated it was probably the estimate as required by law. Estimate or not, it would probably be close to reality but we’ll have to wait to find out because it’s been removed from the School District’s website.

$114.6 million started as $199 million that was whittled down to $168 million to the final number we currently now have: $114.6 million. Why all the games? Legacy. One School Board member and Dr Chase both admitted to it. When one resident asked why this consolidation never happened previously, we were again told, albeit differently, that that was the old Board and this is the new one, with a new Superintendent. Funny, but it’s still the same old taxpayers being duped to go for this with a lack of viable information from the School District. Why the subterfuge?

During the question and answer period at the end of the presentation, when asked if they would follow other school districts proposals that seemed more economically feasible should this not pass, the speaker was routinely dismissed with the requisite, “We’re not there yet,” or “We’ll see what we have to do after the vote.” They were very careful not to say, “Should the bond vote fail.”

The New York State Taxpayer Alliance, along with others, has been making robo calls to inform the taxpaying public about this referendum bond vote proposal. Should it pass, according to the robo call voice, it could add $1,000 per year to your school tax bill for 30 years! Another robo call stated that the loss of the acres and acres of trees will impact our quality of life. It seems there is something for everyone to be upset about with this proposal: cost, increased traffic, environment and more. Many have voiced their opinions about this proposal. Here's two sample emails we have received about this proposal.

Thank you for taking the time to research the proposed Greenburgh School Bond.  

The many projects in Greenburgh, especially on and around Hartsdale Ave are out of control, especially considering that people outside of our Town are proposing to spend our money!  

The School District proposal is the worst, especially for those of us on fixed incomes.

...How will these projects affect their pocketbooks?

We should be making our own decisions without the help of others without skin in the game.

- Joe

Hello!
Thank you so much for the NO VOTE flyer on the proposed Greenburgh School Bond.  My husband and I were very upset when we first learned about the proposal in a newsletter from Paul Finer [sic] on about page 4. Then when we read the School Board’s proposal we were astonished at the dis-information and unprofessional and inadequate development plan (I use those words loosely). The School  Board’s utter disregard of the impact on the community is astounding.  The qualifications of those proposing such a plan should be grounds for their removal. We absolutely plan to vote NO.

If the proposal is approved, we plan to move. We live in Poet’s Corner and we already have a difficult time getting in or out of our area.

We had no idea of your organization and are so happy to know you are out there to protect Greenburgh.  It is obvious that our Town has no Master Development Plan  

Thank you for your diligence on our behalf. 

These emails are just two of the many comments we have received during this back and forth over this proposal. After several meetings, a redesigned website and repeated questions, residents are still no closer to having tangible facts from the School Board to help them make a decision. ABG and others have provided information by doing our due diligence utilizing the NYS Board of Education website, newspaper and magazine articles and the School Board's own website. It shouldn’t have to be this difficult for taxpayers to get answers and information. 

Once this bond is defeated, we all need to take a breath and then sit down in earnest and try to come up with a long range, cost-effective plan that can accomplish what is needed for the schools without crippling the School District’s taxpayers, benefits the children and ultimately enhances our community. So far, that does not seem to have been the goal. But a goal such as this should have been the final destination from the beginning. It is the only way to get A Better Greenburgh School District.

Another Group Protests Saying, “NO!”

ABG received this letter being distributed by another group against the Greenburgh School District’s referendum Bond Proposal. Here is a copy of it.

Watch Concerned Citizens Discuss Referendum Bond Proposal

https://youtu.be/pzzHXsyDkUo

School Referendum Bond Proposal

Legal Issues Plague School Bond Consolidation Proposal

We’ve previously written about the entire debacle that the Greenburgh School Board has created under the guise of consolidation. Consolidation, as bandied about by public officials and others these days usually is done under the mask of savings. It could be saving money, saving resources, personnel or time. Rarely do most people question the benefits that could be had should a consolidation take place. As taxpayers, who wouldn't want to save money? An example is the Villages within the Town of Greenburgh created a purchasing consortium that the Town refused to participate in, saving on many common items, one being asphalt (blacktop). By consolidating their purchasing, they gave up nothing and gained a lot in the way of savings for each Village.

Now the Greenburgh School Board has decided to use the consolidation mantle to push a spending extravaganza plan for the Greenburgh School District – at a cost far beyond the reach of many in the Greenburgh Central School District‘s finances. The cavalier attitude presented by those pushing this, including School Superintendent Chase has the hallmarks of ignoring the plight of many of our residents! The project was kept secret by those in favor of it and only started gaining publicity once the referendum date had been publicized. Thankfully, many involved throughout our Town and astute residents became aware of this. We wrote about it and attended most of the “information sessions” that were said to provide answers.They did not.

Dr Chase equated the cost of this proposal to a specialty cup of coffee per day. Perhaps in her world she can do that, but she’s obviously out of touch with many working parents, residents, and taxpayers either with kids in the school system or not. Additionally, seniors on a fixed income are scared to death of this bond proposal and fear for their homes! One resident we'll call Rose, said she is 94 years old and is barely able to stay in her home where she has lived all of her married and widowed life. She stated to us that if this bond passes, the best that she can hope for is to die before it’s implemented. Does that sound like someone having a specialty cup of coffee each day?

Under state law, it is illegal for school officials to use public money to hire political consultants to pass bond measures. A board of education may use public resources to present objective, factual information to the voters concerning a vote or election (Education Law §1716; Phillips v. Maurer, et al., 67 NY2d 672; Appeal of Caswell, 48 Ed Dept Rep 472, Decision No. 15,920; Appeal of Wallace, 46 id. 347, Decision No. 15,529). However, while a board of education may disseminate information “reasonably necessary” to educate and inform voters, its use of district resources to distribute materials designed to “exhort the electorate to cast their ballots in support of a particular position advocated by the board” violates the constitutional prohibition against using public funds to promote a partisan position (Phillips v. Maurer, et al., 67 NY2d 672; Stern, et al. v. Kramarsky, et al., 84 Misc 2d 447; Appeal of Caswell, 48 Ed Dept Rep 472, Decision No. 15,920; Appeal of Wallace, 46 id. 347, Decision No. 15,529). Dr Chase is now making the rounds to various churches and other groups to sell her legacy plan.

Additionally, it is improper for a board of education, as a corporate body, to be involved in partisan activity in the conduct of a school district election (Appeal of Wallace, 46 Ed Dept Rep 347, Decision No. 15,529; Appeal of Hager and Scheuerman, 43 id. 363, Decision No. 15,019).  Even indirect support, such as a school board giving a PTA access to its established channels of communication to parents to espouse a partisan position that the board itself was prohibited from doing directly, has been deemed improper (Stern, et al. v. Kramarsky, et al., 84 Misc 2d 447; Appeal of Wallace, 46 Ed Dept Rep 347, Decision No. 15,529; Appeal of Hager and Scheuerman, 43 id. 363, Decision No. 15,019).

http://www.counsel.nysed.gov/Decisions/volume57/d17296.

An issue or conflict we see here is that the Greenburgh School Board had gone directly to their student's parents with this proposal to garner support from them. Only after scheduling a referendum vote and not advertising their $166 million dollar proposal to the public was the plan exposed. But once it was learned of, the plan received quick resistance as too costly and would be blocked by Greenburgh’s already beleaguered taxpayers. The School Board quickly reacted by lowering the cost to $114.6 million dollars, jettisoning the work slated for Woodlands High School. They've once again kicked the maintenance can down the road. Those that don’t study history are destined to repeat it.

Repeating history is exactly what we continue to see happening. Utilizing the explanation that the repairs needed to the Greenburgh schools was a conscious decision that was purposely made by the Board, the audience was astounded. They were told in the (non-information) information sessions that it was the taxpayer’s fault that maintenance was not performed because the taxpayers had not approved previous bonds. Wow. 

Next, the audiences were admonished because they let the schools get this way and now we must look forward and not live in the past. By the way, the brochures that were handed out contained little information regarding real and detailed costs for all of this construction. But they did have nce watercolor renditions of what the buildings would look like. When resident taxpayers posed questions about future maintenance and those costs and plans, they were told these would be new buildings and not require much maintenance! So much so that maintenance is not even in the upcoming budgets for those buildings.Remarkably, the audience then received an ad hoc lecture on integrity from Dr Chase.

Another interesting facet is that the architectural firm the School Board has hired is the same firm featured in a Journal News article about the Mt Kisco Fire Department's building renovations screw-up that they estimated the project buildings to cost. A bond was floated and passed to renovate the firehouse. Now it’s been learned that their figures were incorrect and way off what was put out to bid. Don’t take our word for, read about it at: https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/mount-kisco/2019/02/27/mount-kisco-firehouse-miscalculation/2997309002/ This is not the firm we want to use on a project that will lock us into for the next 30 years!

GCSD has hired the following firms to handle bond planning:

CS Arch (architectural firm):  They are represented by Darryl Mastracci and Tina Mesiti. Their website provides strategies for passing school bonds.

https://www.csarchpc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Proven-Strategies-for-Passing-School-Building-Referenda.pdf

Focus Media, out of Goshen, is a public relations firm. They helped Mt. Vernon pass their school bond.

https://www.focusmediausa.com/

Savin Construction Management P.C.was also used by Mt. Vernon. Their name has been mentioned at meetings, but it is not clear how their role differs from/complements that of CS Arch.

http://www.savinengineers.com/

* In case the bond passes, there is reason and precedent for establishing a Bond Oversight Committee. 

http://www.smcoe.org/assets/files/about-smcoe/superintendents-office/citizens-bond-oversight/BestPractices_5.09.pdf

We recommend voting NO in the referendum and let the school board work with the community instead of around it to come up with changes for our school district. Furnish facts and figures, provide real information and let the public - the only real stakeholders in all of this - have a seat at the table. It’s the only way to get A Better Greenburgh School District.