New Castle Officials Catch Flak for Possible Change to Rec Registration
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Parents whose children attend Chappaqua schools but are Mount Pleasant residents pushed back last week against a likely policy change that would give preference to New Castle children for future town camp and recreation program registration.
The New Castle Town Board discussed the matter at a joint meeting with members of the Recreation & Parks Commission and Superintendent of Recreation & Parks Ike Kuzio on Apr. 30 that would impose a two-day delay to register for non-resident children who live in Mount Pleasant and the Chappaqua School District. Supervisor Victoria Tipp said any change would not affect this year’s summer camp and wouldn’t take effect before August registration for fall programs.
As of Apr. 26, there were 282 children enrolled for summer camp, and 27 of them are Mount Pleasant/Chappaqua School District students, while there is a sizeable waitlist that includes many New Castle children. There has also been a two-week delay for children who are neither town or school district residents.
Tipp said children whose families pay town taxes shouldn’t be excluded from the programs over enrollees who live out of town.
“I do understand the idea of community and how they feel about it and how their friends are part of the camps,” Tipp said. “We do want to maintain and support that sense of community, so how do we cover both needs? The only answer I see is to try and expand accessibility to the camp. We can’t have our residents take a back seat, but we can try to expand the enrollment so everybody can get in.”
Expanding camp enrollment in the future may be difficult because of lack of facilities. The town relies on Chappaqua school facilities for its summer camp, but the district often needs to make facilities improvements when school is not in session.
Another challenge is finding enough help, Kuzio said.
“I don’t want to open up registration in January and February to double the numbers and then all of a sudden sit here in May and there’s no way I can get another 10 workers to cover for our additional numbers,” he said.
At least a dozen parents who live in Mount Pleasant and the Chappaqua School District strongly urged the town to continue the status quo. The parents said they don’t have an issue with paying the 20 percent non-resident fee and could enroll in Town of Mount Pleasant programs, but most of their children’s friends are with kids whom they attend schools with in Chappaqua.
Hardscrabble Hill Road resident Jacqueline Panzone said she’s lived in the community for 11 years, and there was never a delay for those families who were Chappaqua School District residents but lived in Mount Pleasant.
“I understand there’s difficulty with the amount of kids that can’t be enrolled in these programs, but we’re talking about a very small number of students, and we’re talking about preventing them from being with their friends, and that’s what’s concerning to me,” Panzone said.
Another parent, Jennifer Butler, said because her two children attend Chappaqua schools her family is more involved and invested in the Chappaqua community.
“Therefore, I am disappointed and honestly gobsmacked – and I use that word and I hate having to use it here – at how thoughtlessly this situation is being handled,” Butler said.
Other parents spoke of how the Town Board is segregating the community. Becca Makover of Woodbridge Court told the board that as the incoming Roaring Brook Elementary School PTA president, she would recommend that the district discontinuing renting space for town programs if this policy goes through.
“I stand here disappointed and dismayed that we dealing with an ill-thought-out policy of division and disunity in a place where I thought my neighbors and I were welcome,” Makover said.
Tipp responded that as a former PTA president she never would have used her position to issue a threat.
While board members said they would consider the matter again, they appeared intent on having a way to prioritize town taxpayers. Councilwoman Ally Chemtob said the school district resident who is not a New Castle taxpayer is not paying for the costs associated with the recreation programs.
“There’s a taxpayer and a non-taxpayer and our goal is to represent our taxpayers. Not to hurt or do wrong to somebody who’s not, but our taxpayers should come first,” said Councilman Jeremy Saland.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
