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VOTE NO TUES. FEB 10

IT’S NOT ALL OR NOTHING.
According to the Assistant Superintendent of
Operations, if this $38 million bond fails,
another bond, just for the necessary repairs,
can be voted on in just 45 days.

Spend on what is needed,

not on what is wanted.

The bond was defeated by 80 votes, 2260 NO to 2180 YES.

The elation of defeating the bond is short-lived. There are still boilers to fix and roofs to repair. Memorial and Central fields still need repair.

Just voting no is not enough. I urge those who opposed to the bond to work with our school board to offer creative solutions for funding so we may put forth another bond that the whole community can support– and pass. More...

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The bond vote on February 10 is loaded with projects better suited to rosier economic times.

During the worst financial crisis in our lifetime, it is fiscally irresponsible to ask the community to pay over $9 million for 4 brand new artificial turf fields, a new track and 2 new playgrounds, when what we really need are necessary repairs to roofs, electricity upgrades, safety code compliance and new boilers for the Hommocks and Central.

What the school board info meetings haven't told you:

3 school board members, including the school board president, Linnet Tse, believed it was wise, in light of the economic meltdown, to split the artificial turf expenditures and necessary repair bonds into 2 separate bonds. That way, the community would be given a choice (one bond vs. two-part bond). They were defeated, 3 votes to 4. The board has been advised by their hired bond consultant to present a united front to the public.

• New York state's gigantic budget deficit has resulted in an 11.5% decrease school aid, so taxes will go up.

• Mamaroneck school district faces a possible $1 million budget gap.

• Town taxes will rise almost 4%.

• Sound Shore residents are federally mandated to pay $235 million for Long Island Sound sewer upgrades. There is no cost per household as yet.

• The building committee identified $65 million in major and minor repairs. The original bond was $71 million, then $51 million. That means $27 to $33 million in repairs are waiting in the wings for future bonds.

• In the last bond, $7.5 million of work could not be completed due to cost overruns. Mamaroneck Avenue never got their elevator. Why must repairs to our schools, that will save so much in the future, take a back seat to 4 new artificial athletic fields, a new track (we spent $2 million for the current one only 6 years ago) and 2 new synthetic playgrounds before an ADA-compliant school, decent bathrooms, pointing to cement (Murray is so bad that the whole wall has to be rebuilt) and whatever else was left out?

• Whatever they say it costs, it always costs more. With the last bond, 25% of the work was not done.

• The cost estimates for the bond were prepared by the architects, not by independent cost estimators, who are trained to deliver a realistic picture of the true costs. Bids cannot go out until the bond is approved, so these costs are a best guess.

• Artificial turf lasts only 8-12 years. We'll still be paying for them in 15 years. A new field replacement costs $4k to 600,000 each. Where will replacement money come from? We are told from future school budgets and new bonds.

• $9 million of the bond is being funded by New York State. While that is still true as of today, since this is a multi-year project, falling tax revenues to the state can change that. Governor Paterson has said that "nothing is off the table" and he specifically is targeting education and health care. We taxpayers would be left to pick up the burden.

• Some of our members attended the school board info meeting and were presented with a "fact sheet" prepared by the Friends of the Bond. I'm sure you have seen it. The last bullet says we WILL receive A $10 million from the state in EXCEL funds and thus "bringing our state tax contributions home" They asked if this was a "sure thing." A Board of Ed member said that it was not a sure thing, but that it had always been an "automatic" grant in the past. Board members seem unaware of statements made by Governor Paterson regarding drastic cuts and insurmountable deficits in our state budget. We do not yet know if EXCEL funds are an item in the state budget since it hasn't yet been presented. Yet this item was presented to the community as if it was an approved part of the "package."

• There is no line item in the current budget for natural grass field care. Our current grass fields at MHS are in such bad shape because, ever since the school board tried to relocate the Kemper War Memorial for one new grass field, field proponents have been pushing for 4 synthetic fields.

• If 1 new grass field was fine, 7 years ago, why do we need 4 synthetic fields now? This is overkill. No attempt at scaling back the scope of the project has been accepted. They want it all.

• The community is asked to pay for the million dollar fields, but depending on the warranties, permits for use may be required, although the board is currently promising that won't happen. Conversely, if the fields are open to all, they can be easily damaged.

• The change (thankfully) from crumb rubber at $.31/sq. foot to Mondo fill for the synthetic fields adds up to $3 per square foot. That can add another million dollars to the project. We were told the bond supports a range of options. That's some wide range.

• We paid for re-doing Central field 3 times. Until the runoff problem from Stop & Shop is fixed, an artificial turf field may be a waste of money. New Rochelle and Rye's synthetic turf fields were damaged by floods and were replaced at taxpayer's expense.

• Maintenance numbers can be sliced many ways. While a figure of $5,000 per field, per year is claimed for synthetic turf, in a 16-year scenario, Brad Fresenburg, an MU Extension turfgrass specialist, completed a cost analysis of installing AND maintaining natural and synthetic fields. Including installation and 1 replacement of synthetic turf, an annual average cost for each field type as follows: natural soil-based field, $33,522; sand-cap grass field, $49,318; basic synthetic field, $65,846; and premium synthetic field, $109,013.

Read letters opposing this bond.

When you can only afford to patch your roof, don't borrow to buy a Maserati.