P’ville Schools Set Referendum Date for $15M Capital Project
The Pleasantville Board of Education voted unanimously last week to schedule a Dec. 17 referendum to help fund a $15 million capital project to upgrade district athletic and recreational facilities.
“This resolution is to solidify the board’s commitment to the project and authorize the district to move forward with implementing the plan,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Tina DeSa. “There’s work that has to be done behind the scenes in order to move this forward. We need to get voting machines. We need to apply for SEQRA (state Environmental Quality Review Act), and this resolution is making sure the board is on board.”
The resolution, voted on at the board’s Sept. 24 meeting, outlined the scope of the project by listing the upgrades, which will include re-turfing multiple areas such as the lower and main fields at the high school, adding turf to the high school back field and the upper practice field between the high school main field and the tennis courts. Resurfacing the track is also scheduled to be done.
The bond will be for $13 million. The district plans to use roughly $2 million from its capital reserve fund and fund balance to pay for a portion of the project.
The average homeowner can expect to pay an estimated $167 more in property taxes for the first two years of the 15-year bond with payments starting in the 2027-28 school year should the bond pass. Current debt will drop by over $1 million a year in the 2029-30 school year, which would cancel out that increase for the remaining years of the bond.
Also included in the project are upgrades to security infrastructure, including lockdown technology and public address systems in the district’s three schools, replacing the playground turf, equipment and rubber surfaces at the K-4 Bedford Road School and replacing the original air conditioning equipment at the elementary school.
Outdoor bathrooms, fencing for the fields between the high school and middle school and rebuilding the retaining wall at the middle school fields is also included in the scope of the project.
More details about the project are expected at the board’s next meeting on Oct. 8. The board is expected to review how much of the project is eligible for state building aid.
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