Dear Putnam Valley Community:
Best wishes to all for a happy and healthy 2025!
Inside this newsletter you will find highlights of how our District is strengthening connections within our community and creating meaningful opportunities for our students. We are also providing key details about the upcoming capital project vote focused on infrastructure needs and upgrades.
For more than a year, the Capital Improvement and Facilities Planning Committee composed of community members, teachers, parents, support staff, and administrators worked diligently reviewing documents, touring buildings, and meeting with architects and financial advisors before deciding on a scope of work that will be presented for voter approval on Tuesday, January 28.
The committee remained dedicated to proposing a project that addressed critical infrastructure needs, improved academic spaces, addressed the needs of our cultural arts and athletics program, and offered the District long-term savings through the implementation of sustainable energy sources (solar & geothermal); all at no additional cost to the taxpayer. To ensure a tax-neutral proposal, the District will use $2.5M of District capital reserve funds and strategically replace retiring debt. The total principal cost of the project cannot exceed $14M. In addition, based on our current building aid ratio, the District expects to receive approximately $9.2M in state aid.
Current estimates provided by the District’s architects project an 18-month design, approval, award, and mobilization timeline. The work must begin in the summer of 2026 to capitalize on the funding opportunities that allow this project to be completed without raising taxes. Therefore, a vote date in the winter of 2025 was necessary to meet our anticipated start date while minimizing the project’s impact on our students and staff. This approach, at this time, ensures the project is fully funded without adding a tax burden on the community.
We hope the information provided will help you cast an informed vote on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. The polls will be open from 6 am – 9 pm at Putnam Valley Elementary School.
Thank you for your continued support and partnership. Together we are building a foundation for the future.
Thank you,
Dr. Jeremy Luft
Superintendent of Schools