BOCES Follow-Up

On Tuesday January 19th, the Board of Ed voted unanimously to reject the BOCES proposition.  We believe that while the work needs to be done and we have an obligation to the consortium to participate, there are better, less costly and more efficient alternatives.  This is not a symbolic protest vote, it is a genuine vote against the current proposal.  But, we seek to offer alternatives to that proposal.

Our Director of Facilities has already met with his BOCES counterpart, and we are prepared to make several significant and specific suggestions on how to change the proposal to make it more effective and less costly.  We are also prepared to meet with other members to establish a facilities advisory board to help BOCES plan this project and their facilities projects going forward.

Below is an email exchange with BOCES following the vote.

John,

I wanted to follow up with you as I know that our district clerk spoke with you about our vote last night. 

We are eager to work with you and the other component districts to develop long term solutions to the facilities problems.  We feel very strongly that by pooling our intellectual resources we will find the best way to ensure that our fiscal resources are used in the most beneficial and sustainable manner.

Our no vote in no way implies that we are attempting to eschew our obligations and we recognize that as part owner of these facilities we need to help support them.

Additionally, we sincerely appreciate and value the programs and services that PNW BOCES provides to our students and teachers.

We would very much like to meet with you, other district board members and their facilities directors in a collective brainstorming environment and see if we can move these projects forward in way that works for everyone. 

I look forward to working with you.

Alyson

Alyson Gardner Kiesel

President, Chappaqua Central School District Board of Education

We received the following email in reply:

Alyson,

Thank you so much for going the extra mile to reach out to us. Your district clerk, Theresa Markley did a wonderful job relaying the message from the Board about the vote and your ideas for moving forward. I spoke with Dr. Langlois, our Superintendent, about the ideas from you and your fellow Board members this morning. We both agree that meeting to find a way to address our capital needs is a good idea.  I will speak with Jim tomorrow so we can start planning to get together.

I want to thank you and your fellow Board members for your willingness to be a part of the solution for our capital needs.

John