School Board Swamp Needs To Be Drained

As ABG got more and more entrenched with the School bond debacle, we learned that certain members of the school board may be secretly working to re-introduce all or part of the consolidation bond. This time, the illusion and the scene were cast when Dr Chase made “headlines” by claiming the school district’s engineers deemed the building was not safe for occupancy. And yet, she allowed her staff to remain at risk as they continued working in the building, thus either ignoring the directive that it was uninhabitable or proving that this declaration was a hoax perpetrated two days before school started for effect! Why had the entire summer passed without adequately addressing some of these issues?

We’ve recently learned from our sources that all is not well with many operational considerations. Recently several teachers who were instructed to report to the Mansion for staff training voiced a concern for their safety. (We purposely are not giving much info as to not cause these teachers any additional stress). 

So the question remains, why are people still occupying the Mansion if it is unsafe? And how unsafe is it really? Is the engineering firm that furnished the report on the building condition the same company that would be contracted to oversee the repairs? Can you say conflict of interest? Or how about collusion? We can continue but you get the idea. Is the Consolidation Bond issue that Dr Chase, Trustees Terry Williams, Lloyd Newland and David Warner all favored still a game plan for them as their legacy? The legacy should be about education, and improved metrics for the students. The Board should have learned something when the bond was overwhelmingly defeated – and not only that they poorly communicated with the taxpaying public. Are they trying to better understand what the taxpayers, including those with children in the school, were trying to tell them by voting against the bond.? Fix the existing schools, don’t sell them or move them!

A hypothetical question was raised at a recent neighborhood meeting we attended. The question was, “What is the first thing(s) that needs to be done to start improving the school buildings?” The answer was resounding, “Fix the roofs at each of the schools.” It was also asked, “Why wouldn’t they just do that anyway?” The answer was stunning: “Because it wouldn’t allow them to continue with their narrative that the schools are falling apart and need to be jettisoned while new buildings were constructed at Warburg.” The crowd was in disbelief. 

Here’s a couple of questions raised for which we need answers to from the Board. First, Why did the staff remain in the mansion for roughly a month if the conditions were as dire as Dr Chase insisted? Second, has the Board considered having the building evaluated by an engineering or architectural firm that is a disinterested party with nothing to gain by championing a campus consolidation? Third, has the Board already moved to initiate roof repairs? Fourth, once roof repairs are made what will be the next round of repairs and will they be made in stages of seriousness? Fifth, what is the next bond offering going to cover? Will it be for major, minor, all or some repairs? Most well run districts float bonds every couple of years so that major maintenance, such as roofing, can be done in a timely and scheduled manor. Why does our Board insist on ignoring necessary periodic maintenance bonds? Trustee Williams insisted during the Consolidation Bond presentation that the taxpayers in the past had always defeated the bonds. Why do you think that happened?

This Board, (except for its two newly elected members) and this Superintendent have not given the public the confidence that they need to be assured that the right decisions are being made for our property where we send our children to learn. The fantasy that was purported during the Consolidation Bond forums was that the children would learn better in brand new buildings, with state of the art smart boards, lights and other peripherals. What was also mentioned was that we have great teachers. Great teachers can teach under a tree if they are truly great. We’re not saying they should all adjourn to the great outdoors to teach. But instead of worrying about speaking Mandarin or having a press booth on the football field, let’s worry about teaching and learning in a productive environment. Fix the roofs. That’s a start – it needs to begin somewhere. It’s the first step to make A Better Greenburgh School District.