Sewanhaka Central High School District voters rejected a $99.5 million bond on Wednesday, Dec. 4 that would have funded extensive repairs and upgrades to the district’s five high schools. District residents voted against the plan, 2,705-2,412.
Forty percent of the bond would have been covered by state aid. The bond would have cost every taxpayer $144.26 annually.
“There’s not a whole lot you can say at this point,” said Joan Romagnoli, the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park representative on the Sewanhaka school board. “I’m disappointed. The administration worked tirelessly. Their outreach in the community was solid.”
District Superintendent Dr. Ralph Ferrie thanked the school board, administration and the ad hoc committee, among other groups, for their “efforts over the past 14 months in preparing the referendum proposal.”
“In addition, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all the registered voters who supported this much-needed plan,” he said.
New Hyde Park, Floral Park, Elmont and Franklin Square residents voted on the referendum. New Hyde Park voted down the bond, 614-347 and only Floral Park voters came out in favor, 1,111-954.
School board President Dave Fowler is unsure if anything else could have been done to garner the extra votes to pass the referendum.
“People kept asking me what Plan B was,’” Fowler said. “I joked with someone that my Plan B was to get Plan A passed.”
The proposed bond called for $14.37 million in upgrades at New Hyde Park Memorial High School. About $1.9 million was allocated toward roof construction, while athletic field updates had a cost of $4.37 million. Each school would have received new synthetic sports fields.
Whether or not Sewanhaka will put forth a second bond or alternative proposal remains to be seen. Fowler feels the district needs to find a way to preserve the buildings while maintaining school programs.
“At this point, we will have to meet as a board and decide how we are going to go forward,” Fowler stated. “Part of the issue is it took a great deal of time and effort to get to the point, for five aging buildings, put forward a plan we felt was good. To come back with something else is difficult in the short term.”
Window renovation in New Hyde Park had already begun from capital improvement funds in the budget and is not eligible for aid.
“Over time, the five buildings have aged and they will continue to do so in the future,” said Ferrie. “As the district struggles to function under the state’s restrictive tax cap legislation, it will be extremely challenging to upgrade the five high school facilities while also maintaining the district’s exceptional educational programs.”
Sewanhaka High School was slated to receive $31.2 million in improvements, while Floral Park Memorial and H. Frank Carey high schools would have received $20.8 and $14.9 million in renovations, respectively. The bond also allocated $15.8 million to Elmont Memorial High School.
