LWVS Urges You to Vote Yes for the Bond Referendum

The League of Women Voters of Scarsdale (the "League") supports the final proposed capital projects bond referendum (the "Bond"), in the amount of $18.12 million, recommended by the District Administration (the "Administration") and approved unanimously by the members of the Board of Education (the "Board") on October 6, 2014.

At the time of our previous consensus statement of October 3, 2014, the League was not in a position to weigh in on the final bond proposal, as the Board was still considering additional items for possible inclusion in the bond. The League expressed support for the list of publicly vetted projects recommended by the Administration and approved by the Board on September 8, 2014. Understanding that the Board would "use the opportunity of retiring debt to ensure tax neutrality," the League further supported the Board's consideration of "other District and building-level facilities priorities for possible inclusion in the bond issue."

The League commends the members of the Board for their willingness to revisit their decision of September 8, 2014 in order to maximize the use of bond funding for capital projects, while, at the same time, honoring their original borrowing parameter set in 2013-14 discussions to ensure tax neutrality. We appreciate, in particular, that the Board engaged in an open and candid public discussion, which benefitted the community by providing insight into its decision-making process.

We applaud the thorough and inclusive process the Administration and the Board used to prioritize and select additional projects at the high school, many of which, we understand, have been deferred in years past.

The League further commends the Board for utilizing a variety of opportunities and formats for outreach to the community in order to educate and engage as many voters on the Bond as possible, and we encourage the Board to continue these efforts.

We urge the public to vote "Yes" on the Bond on Thursday, December 11, 2014 from 7 am to 9 pm at the Scarsdale Middle School. Information on how to register to vote and/or to obtain an absentee ballot is available by clicking either the "Bond Referendum" link on the District website or the "Voter Information" tab on the League website.