By JEFF MORRIS
The first Katonah-Lewisboro Board of Education meeting for new district Superintendent Raymond Blanch was a very brief and unusual session on the morning of July 17. The meeting, held at the district office rather than the high school library and with only five members present, was called to order at 8:32 a.m. and adjourned at 8:37 a.m.
The entire purpose of the meeting was to vote on a consent agenda containing four contracts, based on bids for work to be done at John Jay Middle School as part of the district’s capital improvement project.
District residents voted in October 2022 to permit bonding for up to $49.5 million for capital projects at all five Katonah-Lewisboro schools. The overall project is now progressing from the bid process to actual construction, with ground having been broken June 24 for improvements at Increase Miller Elementary School.
Work to be done at the middle school includes renovating two labs, updating other science facilities, installation of air conditioning in the southwest wing, and building a new entrance vestibule for enhanced security.
The four contracts voted on, for general construction, plumbing, mechanical and electrical work, totaled just over $7 million, and were approved unanimously.
At his first full board meeting July 25, Blanch spoke about conducting a listening and learning tour to acclimate himself to the district and meet staff in all the schools. He said he has already been meeting with administrators in every district building; he also spoke about having conversations with all the various groups and organizations within the district, including the PTO, SEPTO, and student leaders. Blanch also said he intends to eventually distill all the data he and a transition team collect into a “Plan for KLSD 2030.”
“From my initial couple of weeks in, it’s just been wonderful,” he said. “So, I just want to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to come and be a part of the district. I’ve been going home the last couple of nights and my wife said, ‘Hey, you’ve got a little pep in your step there!’ And I said, ‘Yes I do.’”
At the July 25 meeting the board approved the tax levy for the 2024-25 school year. The resolution that was passed will allow the district to utilize an additional $2,450,000 of surplus funds which, added to $750,000 of reserve funds already so allocated, will result in a total of $3,200,000 from the fund balance to be used to reduce the tax levy. The district was authorized to collect a total of $106,007,107 in taxes for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The board also discussed items that were not addressed at its reorganization meeting July 2, including committee appointments, and approved numerous consent agenda items pertaining to personnel, curriculum and business matters.
One committee in particular, the facilities committee, was the subject of extensive discussion, as board members considered what the continuing role of the committee would be as the construction bond process progresses. The committee’s charge was adjusted to have it meet on an as-needed basis until the project is successfully completed.
Among the business items approved was a resolution regarding architectural and engineering services, in the amount of $20,565, to be provided by architectural firm KG+D for the demolition of the former district offices located at Shady Lane.
The board had established a committee early this year to make recommendations on the future of the former district office and Lewisboro Elementary School properties, neither of which is being used to educate children, by the end of the school year. That committee issued a report June 20 recommending demolition of the former district office and preservation of the land, noting several options for possible future uses and additional steps that would need to be taken.
In its report, the committee noted that the great-grandfather of the inventor of the Ferris wheel moved to the Shady Lane property in 1782. The property was donated to the district by the Newman family in 1963, and the home, which is next door to Meadow Pond Elementary School, was last used as the district office in the 2015-16 school year. It has no kitchen and the third floor is unstable, the report noted; also, it is not listed as an historic structure.
The initial estimate of the cost to remove the building was $325,000. At the June 20 meeting, the board voted in favor of “deconstructing” the Shady Lane building, pending an appropriate review by the State Historic Preservation Office and, if necessary, a State Environmental Quality Review Act environmental impact assessment.
Lewisboro Elementary School was originally built in 1940, with several additions over the years, including a significant overhaul in 1997 and a gym built in 2003. Declining district enrollment led to its closure following the 2013-14 school year. Portions of it have been rented by the town of Lewisboro and other tenants. Trustee Rory Burke reported that when he served on the finance committee, which evaluated the building, it found there have been significant costs for maintenance that have exceeded the rental income.
The Shady Lane/LES committee had been unable to arrive at a conclusion regarding the former elementary school by its June deadline, largely due to the fact that any path forward, other than selling the land would require a seven-digit expenditure. The board recharged it in June to deal exclusively with LES, tasking it with researching, engaging stakeholders and presenting specific, fiscally sustainable options regarding the future of the LES property, with the understanding that the board wishes to maintain ownership of the land.
The committee is to present recommendations for the disposition of the buildings and the use of the land to the board no later than October 2024.