Too Many Problems With P’ville Schools Bond to Support Proposition
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
As village residents and parents of one Pleasantville High School graduate and one current student, we believe that the $15 million capital projects bond, in its current form, should be rejected.
A proposal of this magnitude – the largest in many years – requires robust participation and debate by the full community of taxpayers. Yet many of us are only just becoming aware of it. Although the school board has been discussing this major undertaking for about year, it is only now that a vote is imminent that the board is beginning to engage members of the community beyond those on its Athletic Facilities Committee. And this is happening in the middle of the busy holiday season with all of its distractions.
Setting aside the issue of tax liability, which may well turn out to be significantly greater than the amount put forth by the board, there is a deeper problem with this proposal. It lumps together necessary initiatives (e.g., security upgrades, HVAC for Bedford Road School, replacement of existing turf and resurfacing of the track at the high school) with others that are not essential (e.g., replacing existing grass fields with turf and adding lights to the high school main field), and it forces us to vote on them together.
There is disagreement within the community about the nonessential items, which makes this bundled approach unacceptable. For example, there are concerns about the safety and environmental impact of grass as opposed to turf, and residents near the high school main field are deeply concerned about the impact of the proposed stadium lights on their quality of life.
These issues and concerns should have a full airing and analysis before a vote, not after it. Accordingly, we will be voting “No” on Dec. 17 in the hopes that a more democratic process with the full participation of the taxpaying community will lead to the adoption of a facilities plan that all of us can celebrate and support – together.
Alice and Rick Perlman
Pleasantville
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