Yorktown Board of Education Concerned Over BOCES $19 Million Project

Yorktown Board of Education members are concerned over a $19 million project to upgrade and rehabilitate nine buildings and a therapeutic pool, which the Putnam/Northern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services () has presented to them.

Tom Higgins, BOCES assistant superintendent for administration, met with the 's school board on Monday to answer questions and address their concerns. 

The nine buildings are all more than 40 years old and require upgrades to meet new and current code requirements. BOCES has $900,000 in its capital projects fund and is .

Some of the issues raised by board of education members were about cost overruns, and questions about why BOCES is doing the project all at once and why they were using a clerk as opposed to a construction manger. 

School board member Thomas Donatelli asked Higgins what the thought process was when deciding not to do the project in phases. Board of Education vice president Karen Corrado suggested that BOCES should come to the board for further approval after each of the three phases is completed. 

"You'll get a lot more support when you get the credibility," she said. 

Higgins said he had heard similar questions from other people as well, but if the work needs to be done, people have suggested they would rather borrow the money now when the rates are better. 

"There is no doubt that this is the time to borrow if you're interested in the cost, because it's never been cheaper," Assistant Superintendent of Business Tom Cole said. "And I do understand and realize that."

The Peekskill school district was the  on the project, which must be approved by all 18 BOCES member districts before it can proceed.

Each district has the choice of whether to borrow all the money right away or in phases. 

Board of Education president Jackie Carbone said she was concerned that once work began, more things could surface that would need to be addressed and cost them money. The district had  and Carbone said she understands the kind of work it takes to repair a pool.

"You're trying to bring a 40-year-old pool up to code, I almost think it's better to build a new pool," she told Higgins. "I'm very uncomfortable with cost overruns, those kinds of things and how those will be controlled."

Another school board member, Christine Montero, also said she was not "totally comfortable" with the project because not all questions had been answered. 

If the project is approved in a timely manner, work would begin in 2012 and be completed in 2015. The school board has until the end of January, 2012 to vote. 

The therapeutic pool serves students with multiple disabilities and youngsters on the autism spectrum. The buoyancy provided by the pool enables therapists to work more extensively with the youngsters than they could otherwise.

Besides Yorktown, member districts of Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES are Bedford, Brewster, Briarcliff, Carmel, Chappaqua, Croton-Harmon, Garrison, Haldane, Hendrick Hudson, Katonah-Lewisboro, Lakeland, Mahopac, North Salem, Ossining, Putnam Valley, Somers and Peekskill.

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