LES Savings Number Revised Downward

(This story was published on Nov. 9, 2013)

The number of the projected savings for closing Lewisboro Elementary School has been lowered to exclude employee attrition that would have occurred regardless of the place's fate.

The new number, which is $1,717,894, was unveiled by Katonah-Lewisboro Superintendent Paul Kreutzer at a Wednesday public hearing for the fate of LES. Previously the projected savings ranged from $2,250,000 to $2,960,000.

School board trustee Janet Harckham, who chairs the school closure task force overseeing the review, apologized for what happened when she spoke at the board's Thursday night meeting. She described the attrition inclusion as a miscommunication but denied that there was any bad intention.

“None of it was a plot," she said. 

The revised cost assumptions also include a change from a 70-percent utilities reduction for a closed LES to an 80-percent drop. It also excludes changes associated with transportation - the task force will explore what busing will be like without LES around Thanksgiving - as well as renovation work.

At the Wednesday hearing, which was held at John Jay Middle School, LES parent Melissa Luper brought up the construction cost aspect. Michael Jumper, assistant superintendent for business, responded by saying that there would be “minimal construction” necessary for two of the schools, Katonah Elementary School and Meadow Pond Elementary School. He also mentioned that when the district offices were previously moved to a portion of Increase Miller Elementary School - four out of six full classroom spaces it utilized now would be taken back if LES is closed - was designed so it could be “undone” at a point.

The move to Increase Miller cost about $100,000 to $125,000, according to Jumper. It was indicated at an earlier public hearing that LES would be a possible location to relocate the district offices.

At the Thursday board meeting, parent Lynne Geaney suggested that the cost savings shift was undermining trust and described it as an “alarming issue” for community members. Moments later, school board President Charles Day weighed in, explaining that the savings amount is significant no matter what the number is. However, he remarked that whether it is worth the trade-off can be debated. Day also gave context by noting the district's general fiscal situation and even brought up examples of failed motions for items involving much smaller dollar amounts.

The previous day at the hearing, Geaney brought up the fact the property tax cap, which limits how much tax revenue can be raised year to year unless a approval is won by at least 60 percent of budget voters. Geaney mentioned that a reopening of LES could be an issue for the tax cap, which was something that garnered sympathy from board members (and task force members) Harckham and Richard Stone.

Concerns Continue at Hearing

At the Wednesday meeting the same concerned given at previous hearings were reiterated, whether it was about academic disruption, negative impact on property values and the South Salem area, or opinions that the timetable is being rushed.

Parent Ashley Murphy, who is on an LES PTA group addressing the closure and has also joined the task force, noted how the predecessor group exploring a closure, the school utilization committee, spent time looking at closing two schools, which was ruled out due to insufficient room. She noted that what was presented earlier this year was not true.

Board Vice President Majorie Schiff, who is also on the task force, felt that an opportunity was missed during the utilization committee period to have a conversation that was meaningful about benefits of closing one school, which was the other scenario that the committee recommended for further review. The 2-school scenario was ruled out earlier this fall and the task force then focused its attention on exploring a closure of LES.

Michael Mongiello, an LES dad and volunteer firefighter, worried about traffic impact on Route 123 as a result of only having three elementary schools. He worried that it could pose a challenge for responding to emergencies and suggested that it would negatively affect back-road traffic as a result.

Chris Sommers, who just moved to South Salem from New York City with his family, brought up the possibility of older residents being replaced with younger ones with children. Schiff responded by supporting having the district's demographer to look at a scenario exploring what if home sales reached another peak. The demographer will do a presentation on the latest demographic data on Nov. 21.