Julie Allongue for Greenburgh Central School Board

 My name is Julie Allongue, and I am running for a seat on our Greenburgh Central School District Board of Education. 

I am a proud mom of an RJ Bailey School student and am serving the RJ Bailey community as PTA President in my second term. I seek the board trustee position because I believe it will take our town to launch our children into the futures they dream of and desire with the best tools we can provide. I feel an urgency to make this belief a reality, and we need more than talk to continue progress. I hope my choice and actions will serve as an example to our students of civic contribution and community engagement. 

With a career in product management, I bring experience in making tough decisions, balancing priorities with budgets, and managing goals and profit and loss statements—additionally, the ability to communicate and collaborate across fields of expertise. Lastly, the Allongue household is bilingual, and I have a brother who has battled hearing and speech impairment since childhood. Due to this, I respect the value of meaningful and accurate communication.

I will roll my sleeves to work for our Greenburgh Central students and community. Join me as you vote for me and in supporting our students with your vote on May 17th. 

Lies and Misdirection Continue From GCSD

Our Greenburgh Central School District just can’t seem to help itself. Between misdirection with maintenance of our schools, unnecessary evacuations of the mansion, investigations of Superintendent Chase, the firing of the old engineering firm and the hiring of a new one, promised dates missed for reports, attempted consolidation, a 3.96% tax increase to the 2020-21 budget, the Coronavirus cancellation of school and a waste of $300k to evacuate the Mansion, it’ll be a miracle if the public ever sees our dysfunctional school district function properly and actually educate our kids. Let’s dive in.

Consolidation

We’ve written about this extensively. About a year ago the Greenburgh Central School District (GCSD) Administration put forth a bond referendum in order to consolidate the multiple Greenburgh schools onto one campus. Effectually, they wanted to jettison the Highview School (Central Park Avenue behind Presser Park/Webb Field) and the RJ Bailey School on Hillside Avenue. The administration went to extremes to prove how dilapidated these structures were. Admittedly, there was some lack of maintenance and neglect with these buildings because we were told the Board made a conscious decision to allow the buildings to be neglected in order to not lay off teachers. 

When we began to dig into the numbers, based on the facts and figures we were fed, the numbers simply didn’t add up. We learned that we were being lied to by the administration when we pressed them to explain what the bond principle plus the interest would be. They continued to maintain it was only $114 million dollars even though the NYS Board of Education information showed the interest to be almost as great as the principle. The real figure would have exceeded $200 million dollars! The school administration planned to sell the two schools to offset the loan amount. They gave an inflated approximation of what each school should fetch in the open market. A commercial real estate broker even said at a meeting that these buildings, at best, might fetch up to $3 million dollars each – a far cry from the $10-12 million we were being told they were worth.

Maintenance

We’ve already mentioned the Board made a conscious decision to allow the buildings to be neglected to not lay off teachers. Perhaps we can give them the benefit of the doubt for trying to save jobs? However, money was always included in the budget for maintenance and repairs – just not enough for the serious work that needed to be done. Responsibility for the failure to accomplish the necessary repairs falls right into the lap of the long time Board of Education members specifically and the Board as a whole. Was their goal to allow the schools to degrade to such a point that they became uninhabitable? Yes, we know it was.

The community Bond referendum meetings were preceded with slick mailers and superfluous information from the District to all of the Unincorporated resident taxpayers. The first two meetings brought out many residents. There were also a large number of administration members and teachers with their children present who spoke in support of the consolidation. Then taxpayers starting asking hardball questions. When Superintendent Chase was unable to provide them good answers, she reverted back to, “Don’t we want the best for our kids?” Of course we do. That’s why we pay Dr. Chase a $250k salary plus benefits. While not an issue until now, many of us are now being hamstrung by the Coronavirus. Many residents have lost their jobs and are now faced with paying annual federal and state income, Town, fire AND school taxes. Thankfully they are not dealing with the huge tax increase that would have resulted from passing the bond!

Budget and Tax Increase

It’s becoming apparent that trying to sustain the $73 million expense to educate fewer than 1,600 K-12 students is becoming more and more unrealistic. The budget that was presented on February 27th called for a budget increase of 3.96% ($2,801,301). Funding this amount calls for a 4.25% tax increase. So, while Mr Feiner is bragging about having no tax increase this year for the Town residents, that success will be eliminated by the School budget if this proposed budget should pass. During these fiscally uncertain times, it’s imperative that the School Board reduce this year’s budget (through attrition and perhaps a hiring freeze), repair our buildings and make sure there is NO tax increase for residents. After all, with students scoring 35% in both English and Math skills, something is beyond amiss in the GCSD. 

The Sky Is Falling

After a 3-month summer hiatus and literally days before school was scheduled to start in September, Dr Chase ambushed us with the news that the Mansion was uninhabitable. She called for the immediate evacuation of the facility which houses the administration, maintenance, three Early Childhood Programs and a Special Needs classroom. The ECP and special needs classes were relocated to the Jackson School. A month later the administration employees were moved out. Not moved out were the maintenance people. Why would they be allowed to continue to work there if the building was unsafe? 

The School Board appeared to sit on their hands until January, finally bringing in a company to do an evaluation of the building (another expense). While we were told the damage was caused by roof leakage, no provisions were made to seal those areas with tarps or anything else. The Board finally hired BBS Architects, Landscape Architects and Engineers (BBS) to evaluate the Mansion and the groundskeeper’s residence. At the last Board meeting we learned the building was not in danger of collapse and with $869,000 of repairs, it would be safe to return. It turns out while moving the kids in order to be safe could be appropriate, moving everyone else for the cost of $300,000 was not. That money, which could have been used for maintenance and repairs, is gone. After wasting all that money, time and effort building a new suite for Superintendent Chase in the Woodlands High School can she and her staff actually be going back to the Mansion to work?

Where We Are Now

The Mansion will require $869,000 for repairs not including the roof. The roof will cost about $1.5 million. However, $1.3 million dollars had been set aside and already authorized to be expended for those repairs. We’d like to know what is causing the holdup? By the way, $1.3 million plus $300,000 dollars equals $1.6 million dollars. The $300,000 spent to move out of the mansion would have made up the necessary shortfall to repair the roof.

Currently there’s talk that after spending close to $300k to move everyone from the Mansion to the other schools on the Warburg Campus they didn’t actually all need to move. There’s also talk that the Administrative staff and Superintendent will move back into the Mansion as there was no risk of collapse as we had been told by Superintendent Chase. These are the kinds of actions and frankly lies that make the public distrust the Superintendent, the Administration and the Board. The kids in the classrooms will remain where they are currently located and Principle Matt Smith will get his office back from Dr Chase. Where was the Board during this knee-jerk reaction and why weren’t they controlling the narrative instead of the Superintendent? She works for them!

The Board is also required by law to hold public hearings for the budget. How and what will transpire with the budget approval process? Will hearing dates be allowed to change to accommodate its public hearing requirement and vote?

Another issue were the online accusations made against Superintendent Chase and Principal Smith. Several months ago, unidentified persons writing under the email monikers of Watchdog For Greenburgh, Greenburgh Free Press, and several others wrote to a group of residents and ABG alleging questionable or illegal activity by the Superintendent and Principal, (referencing several topics that we will not post as we could not verify or corroborate them). Our understanding is that an investigation took place by the School Board utilizing an outside agency that will not be shared because they are a “personnel matters”. Convenient.

With Coronavirus blanketing our neighborhoods, schools everywhere are closed. Budgets may not be voted upon or passed for various reasons and contingency budgets may need to be adopted. Our guess is that schools may not reopen this year. If they do, it will not be for the entire in-school season. Should this prediction come to fruition, repair work for the mansion should begin as soon as possible as it could take several months and the repairs can be done through the summer. If that’s not possible, repair what can be repaired and get these buildings back in good operational shape.

We’ll see you at the budget hearings – eventually.

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.

Letter To The Editor

The Journal News cover article on Sunday is an eye-opener. There is no doubt the current administration is passionate about this plan. This vote will be decided by a few factors. How many senior citizens live in this area? I’m sure many believe their property value will increase., but will they be able to shoulder the financial burden until then.? How many middle-class residents and those approaching retirement will be unable to afford the increased tax burden if the vote passes? How many residents are paying college tuition? How many residents have kids who graduated college & have a good job that cannot afford to buy a house in this area? 

Greenburgh tax payers just received a 2 percent County tax increase. How many individuals know that if their taxes go up significantly, it will increase the chances that they will have a difficult time selling their houses? Many decide whether they will heat their homes comfortably or eat. Another factor, many parents do not send their children to the district and pay tuition for a private school? It’s more than 23%. 

It’s about more than just test scores. Which shouldn’t be the only way a child’s success in school is determined. How many people know for sure that $79 million is not an inflated number for the district to make the necessary repairs? If you’ve walked throughout RJ Bailey, the interior is in very good shape. Yes the magnificent auditorium needs chairs repaired and peeling paint repaired .On Saturday If you visited Highview you only saw the boiler room, yes it was absolutely astonishing that the furnace installed prior to 1955 is still there & works. Yes a leaky pipe should be repaired and asbestos should be contained or removed. I’ve been in Highview before and the interior is in good shape. 

A new heating system for Woodlands high school is approximately $1 million. (Give or take $200,000)The only breakdown of expenses is the cost to each building. What would the taxpayers get for $79 million? Woodlands repairs comes in at close to 50 million. I’ve pleaded with the board and superintendent to post the breakdown of the repairs for each building not just a number for each building. It’s been 3 weeks & no info. 

There is a strong undertow of civic association members who were astonished at information presented at the first meeting in Woodlands and are now posting and informing their neighbors each time they attend a meeting. This information Is based on information the board presented to the public. It is a fact the traffic congestion is a real issue. 

Not everyone can afford the fancy coffee every day or to go out to dinner as stated in the Journal news a couple of months ago. Make no mistake the budget vote was pushed back to March 19 for many reasons, primarily suspected voter suppression. Many are scrambling to inform thousands of residents of this potentially life-changing bond. Yes, it could change the lives of the students who are already performing well & graduating on time and it could change the lives of the taxpayers who may have to up & leave. Information is spreading like wildfire . 

Disseminating the information has become a challenge. There’s been flip-flopping with answers and expenditures. Yes the kids do deserve better. But what will it cost to average taxpayer? Why do kids in the high school have to wait until Highview and Bailey are sold for the necessary repairs at WHS to be complete? Will the district obtain 20 million for the sale of the buildings? Just like the “irreparable buildings", taxpayers are left in the dark wondering why nothing was repaired in over 11 years or asking is this really a good use of my hard earned money? 

Does anyone question why each time they show up at the public school info meeting why the PowerPoint is completely different? Just Saturday individuals were asked to write questions on index cards. The cards were collected and the questions were not answered as promised. Another factor in this vote: civic associations and blogs will be a very strong undertow in this vote. I encourage all residents to find time to read blogs and civic association websites because their information is what is disseminated from meetings and is truly a strong voice that speaks for many. As for individuals who were told “change your settings to shut out people who post” “Fasten your seat belt it’s going to be a bumpy ride”

- Name withheld upon request.