Dear Putnam Valley Community:
As you know, we held our capital project vote on Tuesday, January 28. While the outcome was not what we had hoped for, we deeply appreciate the engagement, feedback, and support from our community throughout this process. Encouraging voter turnout has been and will continue to be a focus for PVCSD. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, we were unable to get more voters to the polls. In fact, turnout on Tuesday was slightly less than the turnout for the annual May vote, with approximately 15% of registered voters casting a ballot (625 Yes votes to 667 No votes, a small difference of only 42 ballots).
Our commitment to providing the best possible educational environment for our students remains a priority. In the coming weeks, we will carefully review the results, gather additional community input, and determine the best path forward to address the needs of our schools. Your voices are critical to shaping our next steps, and we will continue to explore ways to communicate accurate information with the Putnam Valley community.
We have been asked by many community members “What comes next?” The reality is that despite the failed vote, the work outlined in the project must still be done. Roofs still need to be replaced, the retaining wall is still failing, and the elementary school will still need heat as the current system is quickly reaching the end of its useful life. The district must now weigh whether to go out for a second vote, revise the project, or break it up into smaller chunks and include some of these costs in the operating budget. Including these costs in the operating budget would have financial implications for current programs and staffing and would eliminate our eligibility for state aid on those portions of the project.
Over the next several weeks, we will reconvene our Facilities Planning Committee, the group of community members, parents, and staff that spent nearly two years putting this project together, to provide insight on what direction they believe the district should go. We will continue to seek feedback from the larger community, our administrators, teachers, and support staff.
More information will be shared soon, including opportunities for further discussions and community input. Thank you for your dedication to our schools. We look forward to working together to ensure a strong future for our students and our district.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jeremy Luft
Superintendent of Schools