Chappaqua School Voters Approve Infrastructure Bond, Reject Second Proposition
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Chappaqua School District voters approved a nearly $34 million bond to upgrade the district’s infrastructure and facilities Tuesday night but rejected a second proposition that would have produced a single point of entry at Horace Greeley High School.
The first proposition passed with 58 percent of the vote (588-434). Proposition 2 was defeated by 60 percent of those who voted (610-412).
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christine Ackerman and Board of Education President Jane Shepardson were pleased that the larger proposition comfortably passed.
“I look forward to working with the board in addressing all of the improvements that the community supported in Proposition 1,” Ackerman said moments after the results were announced inside the high school gymnasium.
She said the district also wanted to give the public the opportunity to decide whether it wanted to create a single entrance at Greeley High School to enhance safety for students and staff for $11.3 million. It would have required the lobby and front office to be reconfigured.
With the second proposition defeated, district officials will explore other ways to maintain maximum safety for the building’s occupants, Ackerman said.
The infrastructure proposition will allow for a wide variety of upgrades at each of the district’s six school buildings, including new roofs, improved communications, air conditioning in all school cafeterias and gyms and HVAC improvements.
The passage of the proposition will result in an additional $232 annual cost for the first six years of the 17-year bond starting in 2024-25. That expense would be for the homeowner with a house valued at the district median of $1.25 million before costs begin to decrease with the expiration of other debt.
Under the schedule previously outlined by district officials, plans will be sent to the state Education Department for approval next year with work beginning in 2024. It is expected the improvements will be finished during the 2027-28 school year.
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