Resident Submits Appeal Against PV School Referendum Vote
A Putnam Valley resident is still fighting a Putnam Valley school district voter referendum that passed last month, and has now taken it all the way to New York State on appeal.
Dan Vera, a five-year resident and Putnam Valley School Citizen Advisory Committee member filed an appeal with state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia in hopes of overturning a Dec. 8 vote in which voters narrowly signed off on capital reserve fund the district could use for future facility projects. The final tally was 258 in favor and 213 against.
Vera said he thought the district conducted the vote “underhandedly” and once he found out it could be challenged, he took immediate action. He found 70 residents within the district to each sign an affidavit stating they would have voted against the referendum if they knew about the reserve fund vote or had been able to vote if it were more accessible.
Vera noted the voting hours were only 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. and during the evening hours, finding parking at the high school where the vote took place was nearly impossible because of two school events at the time, forcing Vera to park his pickup truck on the grass. School ballots usually take place at the elementary school, but instead this time it took place at the high school.
The district also sent information to residents as bulk mail, Vera asserted, which doesn’t get forwarded to people who have homes in warmer climates during the winter months. Vera estimated there are 122 residents in Putnam Valley that have second homes out of town.
“That just shows you that either people didn’t know or people couldn’t vote,” Vera said. “That was unscrupulous of the school.”
Vera wants a re-vote for the capital reserve held in May when the school budget is also voted on.
Vera knows it’ll be an uphill battle to overturn the vote, going up against an attorney paid for by the school district “to do everything to discredit my petition.” Vera is representing himself.
“That’s my biggest fear,” he said. “They’ll have some high price lawyer at the taxpayer cost to fight my petition.”
Putnam Valley Superintendent of Schools Fran Wills said in an email the district was confident the commissioner of education would uphold the special vote. The district submitted opposition to petitioner’s request that the commissioner issue a stay.
There were a variety of ways the district made the referendum public dating back to August, Wills said.
She stressed there is no requirement that the building conditions survey be competed and approved before submitting a proposition to the voters to establish the capital reserve fund, which was another criticism of Vera’s. Wills also stressed the district is not placing $10 million in the fund and it may never reach that level of money, which has been a rumor around town.
Wills reiterated the capital reserve is for future buildings and facilities and each time money is used from that fund, voters must again approve the expenditure through ballot. Money is only put in the fund if and when there is excess money from that year’s budget and if the school board decides to place it there.
“Although the district has provided detailed information regarding the December 8 Special District vote and although the petitioner is a member of the District’s Citizens Advisory Committee and Audit Committee and was even present at our August 2015 Goals Setting Meeting, he is stating that he and the community were inadequately notified of the vote,” Wills stated. “This is simply not the case.”
