At Public Hearing, LES Closure Opposition Continues

Criticism of a possible Lewisboro Elementary School (LES) closure was the main part of the fourth public hearing for the process.

Residents' worries at the Monday gathering included disruption, negative property value impact, impact on the community. Additionally, some were skeptical about an updated demographics study, which was recently submitted to the Katonah-Lewisboro school district by Dr. Richard Grip of the company Statistical Forecasting, LLC. Falling enrollment from recent years, and a projected continued decline, is a reason for why a closure of LES is being considered.

Lynne Geaney expressed concern with the report's assumptions and argued that the projected data is off then it the educational standard intended cannot be delivered. 

Claire Aldrich gave several examples of concerns with Grip's report. One of them, involved information based on using the previous six years. Her complaints came in the context of an improving housing market, which opponents have pointed to as something that could alter the pattern in recent years of falling enrollment. 

Joseph Schembri criticized Grip's study because it uses what is called cohort survival ratio for data, which involves looking at the past. Schembri argued that this means what happened in the past is what is assumed will also happen in the future. Schembri then noted how enrollment has been volatile over time, going up and down, but not static.

Grip's study weighed in on increasing home sales in the district and stated that it is "unclear" about the enrollment impact.

Grip's reported stated the following: "It is not correct to assume that a home sold will result in a net gain of children, or to possibly assume that all homes are being sold by retirees and purchased by families with children. Since the demographic characteristics of the buyer and sellers (i.e., family size) are not collected from any source, it is unclear whether the district has been losing or gaining students as a result of home sales."

Schembri mentioned Grip's finding on the sales increase and was skeptical of it.

At various points in the hearing, speakers reiterated the economic and academic concerns raised in previous gatherings.

Heather Kranz, an LES mom and educator in the neighboring Bedford Central School District, worried about increasing school size as a result, mentioned the role the school plays for the South Salem community and gave concerned about the cost of reopening the building should it be needed.

Kranz also felt that kids have already gone through other tough events, such as services that have been cut.

“It's not fair to them,” she said.

Tom Christopher worried about the academic impact and felt that a closure could hurt demand for housing.

“Empty houses do not pay taxes,” he said, speaking in general about housing sales.

Folks who are among the area's newest parents also weighed in.

Chris Sommers, who moved to town about six weeks ago, remarked about the research he did. He felt that there is no capacity justification for closing LES and argued that the escalating instructional costs are a problem instead.

Jonathan Samter, who bought his South Salem home only about three weeks ago, noted that a drop in home values can hurt the tax base, discussing the assessment relationship. 

Terrence Cheng felt that the outcome is foregone conclusion and then read articles from various media interviews with school officials that were done in recent years. He also felt that officials are “gambling” with the children's wellbeing.

Lorenzo Serra, a 2003 John Jay High School graduate who grew up in the area and is now a homeowner, worried about a loss of LES. He also mentioned how his generation, which got hit by the recession, will catch up.

Julia Lyons, an LES mom and licensed child psychologist, said she has “grave concerns” about the psychological and emotional impact. She also suggested that smaller schools are preferable.

Asked to comment after the public hearing, school board member Janet Harckham defended Grip's record and described him as "accurate." Harckham, who also chairs the School Closure Task Force that is overseeing the review process, suggested that  frustration from the community is because they do not have a "clearer line" for influencing the decision making.

The topic will be revisited on Thursday when the full school board meets. The agenda for the meeting includes a presentation by Grip of his updated report, which is available on the school district's website at this link.