At its Tuesday, August 20 meeting, the Edgemont Board of Education adopted a revised capital improvement bond proposal and set a date for a community vote on Monday, October 7, 2024. The timing of the vote is a result of the availability of voting machines and legal noticing requirements in advance of the vote.
The projects in the revised capital bond total $62,071,470, which also reflects higher construction costs and the related need to increase the amount of contingency funding. The overall amount includes:
– Edgemont Junior Senior High School projects: $40,415,000
– Greenville Elementary School projects: $9,950,000
– Seely Place Elementary School projects: $6,425,000
– Cost escalation for projects completed in 2026 and beyond: $5,281,470.
The repackaged bond proposal includes:
– Cafeteria and kitchen renovations and additions.
– Dedicated STEAM classrooms.
– Classroom, office, and teacher work room renovations.
– Air conditioning.
– Safety and security upgrades.
– Athletic field improvements and upgrades.
– Emergency vehicle access improvements.
Notably, a majority of sitework proposed at all three school locations in the initial May 2024 bond, which the community voted down, have been removed in the adopted revised bond proposition. The items removed, at a cost of about $7 million, include:
– Edgemont Junior Senior High School: Proposed new vehicular access road originating at Artillery Lane; proposed new parking lot joining existing Old Colony Road parking with new vehicular access road originating at Artillery Lane; and the proposed renovation of the existing parking lot on Old Colony Road.
– Greenville Elementary School: Proposed alterations to the main parking lot, sidewalks and drop-off circle and the proposed new parking lot accessible from Ardsley Road. The district previously removed the proposed new vehicular access road connecting Ardsley Road with the main parking lot in the front of the school (pre-referendum).
– Seely Place Elementary School: Proposed new parking lot on Ardsley Road.
These items are being postponed until the district has the opportunity to engage the community further to collect feedback and determine strategy. The Edgemont Community Council looks forward to being a part of that engagement process.
Additionally, at the August 20 meeting, the Edgemont Board of Education approved a resolution to add a proposition to the October 7 ballot, which if approved by the community, will authorize the district to use not more than $500,000 from the district’s Capital Reserve Fund to support the completion of the previously announced High School Auditorium Renovation Project, a partnership between the School District and Edgemont School Foundation. This Capital Reserve Fund was established by the affirmative vote of the community in 2023 and has been funded through the annual operating budget. Community approval of this proposition and the expenditure of these funds will have no tax impact.
The community will have the opportunity to learn additional details about the revised capital bond proposition at the Board of Education Meetings on September 3, which will feature further discussion of the proposed athletic field improvements and upgrades and the tentative construction deadlines and air conditioning plans, and on September 17, which will cover junior-senior high school classroom utilization, reallocation of space and district office plans, and the tax impact. Both meetings will begin at 7PM in the Edgemont High School Large Group Instruction Room (EHS LGI).
The community vote on Monday, October 7, 2024 will take place from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Jim San Marco Gymnasium at Edgemont Junior Senior High School.
In-person voter registration at the Edgemont District Office will be Monday, Sept. 30, 2024 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Registration also can be done at the Westchester County Board of Elections, 25 Quarropas St., White Plains.
Absentee, Early Mail and Military Ballots will be available on weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., beginning Sept. 6, 2024 in the District Office. Completed applications must be received by the District Clerk at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter or their designated agent. All executed ballots must be received by the District Clerk no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.
To view the full presentation first presented at the August 20 BOE meeting, visit https://edgemontecc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/EUFSD-Fall-2024-Capital-Bond.pdf.