Bedford Trustees Defer Decision on Elementary School Closures

March 10, 2020 Examiner Media Mount Kisco

By Erin Maher

The Bedford Board of Education unanimously voted last Wednesday to delay the decision to close up to two elementary schools in the district for at least a year after its consultant recommended exploring alternatives.

The decision to defer came after the district has been evaluating for six months how to cut expenses while enrollment declines. Districtwide enrollment had fallen from 4,367 students in 2013-14 to 3,915 last year. The district retained Interactive Inc., a national education evaluation firm, to help it operate effectively and in a fiscally responsible manner with a smaller student population.

Interactive Inc. representatives, who appeared at the Mar. 4 board meeting, recommended that Bedford school officials hold off making a decision “until the District’s financial and enrollment circumstances are further clarified,” according to the firm’s report.

“We believe you have an opportunity to manage your near-term and intermediate finances and to monitor enrollments so that you can get a better picture, and you can confirm or disconfirm the trends that have been reported,” said Dr. Dale Mann, managing director of Interactive Inc.

It has been forecast that by 2022-23 the district would begin to experience budget shortfalls.

Interactive Inc. recommended that the administration and the board begin to minimize or avoid revenue-to-expenditure gaps and begin planning for a capital bond to help pay for repair, maintenance and improvements to the district’s facilities.

According to BBS Architecture, which completed a survey of the district’s buildings, the current estimated cost of repairs to Bedford’s schools is $44.25 million.

The consultants suggested that for next year the administration conduct two feasibility studies. The first would examine whether to relocate the Hillside program, a small alternative high school for about 45 students a year, from St. Francis of Assisi parish in Mount Kisco to existing district space, which would save about $100,000 a year.

A second study would explore whether to move the sixth grade from Fox Lane Middle School to the elementary schools so the district could better utilize the space in its facilities.

Several board members expressed disappointment with Interactive’s lack of detail and a firm recommendation on whether to consolidate one or two of its five elementary schools.

“These are not alternatives that are actionable or debatable, other than for us to study it more,” said Trustee Ed Reder.

“I felt the analysis and the leveraging of all your vast array of experiences seemed to lack here,” added Trustee Jessica Cambareri.

However, the board’s action to hold off making a decision relieved many parents. Since news of potential school closings broke in September, parents mobilized and formed Neighbors Together for BCSD, a grassroots community group that strongly opposed potential school closures.

“I was encouraged that Interactive’s report reflected the community’s rejection of closing a neighborhood school,” said Pam Harney, a former trustee and co-founder of Neighbors Together for BCSD. “However, I would caution my neighbors, as the board even acknowledged somewhat that our financial system is always precarious, and closing a school may be necessary in the future.”

“As noted through budget reviews and even comments from the Board of Education’s consultants, the district has an ongoing expenditure problem to address and a number of proposed solutions to consider that do not include a school closure,” said Neighbors Together for BCSD co-founder Jennifer King Kothari.

In 2017, Bedford was named the third most fiscally stressed school district in the state for the 2015-16 school year. In the subsequent years, district officials focused on fiscal responsibility, which has led the district to be in much stronger financial shape.

Long-range enrollment projections forecast Fox Lane High School will be down to 997 students by 2028, which would be a 28 percent decline from the 1,384 students in grades 9-12 two years ago.

The board is scheduled to unveil the district’s preliminary budget at this Wednesday’s meeting.