The Needs of Greenacres School Should Be Addressed

This letter was forwarded to us from Barry Meiselman, President of the Greenacres Neighborhood Association: Dear Greenacres Community: This is a joint message from the Greenacres Neighborhood Association and the Greenacres PTA Executive Committee regarding the future plans for the Greenacres School:

The Scarsdale School District has engaged the architectural firm of KG&D to develop a master facilities plan for the district. The short term and long range solutions that they recommend will be discussed with building level committees at each of the seven facilities. These committees will be comprised of the principal, faculty, Linda Purvis (Assistant Superintendent for Business and Facilities), parents and each PTA President. These building level committees will then make their recommendations to the district's Facilities Master Plan Steering Committee. The project timeframe for finalizing the plan is the end of April-beginning of May 2014.

At this point, projects at the Heathcote and Edgewood Schools, Middle School and High School, as well as district-wide technology enhancements are being considered at costs that are expected to exceed $12-14 million. If a bond issue is proposed and approved by the community in the range of $12-14 million, it would coincide with the retirement of earlier bonds and avoid any tax increases for residents. Therefore, it appears unlikely that all desired projects can and will be approved if a new bond issue is proposed.

What does this mean for the Greenacres Elementary School? The school is the oldest building in the district and has issues that would be anticipated for a building of its age, as well as logistical issues that have existed for some time. The school is at or near capacity in accommodating the current student population, classrooms are small, the heating system can't be fixed properly without an investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars, there are water infiltration issues and there is an actively used road that separates the building from its ball field. What are the current thoughts by the district regarding the Greenacres facility? One is fixing the school in its current location. The footprint of the school cannot be expanded further and building a second floor during the school year is problematic considering disruption of classes, costs and the need for temporary classroom facilities in the ball field. The other option is building a new facility in the ball field while the current school is being used. While the costs have not been quantified at this point, $40-50 million of debt service will be retired in 2019-2020, providing the funding needed for such an undertaking while minimizing the possibility that a new bond issue will result in an increase in taxes.

It is important to note that consideration of these matters is at an early stage, and much more discussion is planned. As Greenacres residents, now is the time to get involved in this vital process and to contribute your thoughts and professional expertise. District Administration and the School Board have recognized the need to better communicate and inform all residents about ongoing deliberations and the decision making process.

The annual Greenacres Neighborhood Association Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for March 13, 2014 at the elementary school. We will start serving refreshments at 7:15pm and the meeting will begin at 7:45pm. Two of our invited guests will be Suzanne Seiden, President of the School Board and a representative from District Administration. This will be a great opportunity to hear more about the facility plan for Greenacres, as well as for school officials to hear your views. Please don't hesitate to call me at 723-5807 or email me at barwest2@aol.com to speak more about this issue.

Barry Meiselman
President, Greenacres Neighborhood Association

Greenacres PTA Executive Committee
Dana Matsushita
Isabel Finegold
Diane Gurden
Jeremy Guski
Sharon Higgins
Gwynn Hurshman
Amy Nadasdi
Tanya Singer
Gerry Young