Katonah-Lewisboro: Pre-K, reserve use will be propositions

Project schedule provided by the district includes milestones already reached, and those anticipated.

By  JEFF MORRIS

There will be separate propositions for the Lewisboro Elementary School UPK project and authorization to use capital reserve funds on this May’s KLSD school vote ballot.

LES UPK

The project team from H2M Architects was on hand at the March 12 Board of Education meeting to present its latest plan to reconfigure the former Lewisboro Elementary School for use as a Universal pre-K center.

Superintendent Ray Blanch provided background on the reasons for reopening LES, chief among them the anticipated state mandate to provide UPK for all by the 2028-29 school year.

Figures provided by the district anticipate savings of $12,000 to $15,000 annually for KLSD pre-K families, with the state budget expected to increase the per child allocation to $10,000, which should cover student and operational costs. 

The cost to maintain and weatherize the building if it is not reopened is estimated at $7.5 million. Blanch said the reality is that now, if it is not rebuilt, they need to start looking at roof replacement in order to prevent more serious damage.

But on the positive side, according to the architects, “That building truly has some really good bones in it and some life left in it.”

The plan envisaged by H2M includes a clear division between community and student spaces, enabled by locking doors and separated corridors. There will be two separate entrance vestibules for the two halves of the building, with the gym accessible from the community corridor. The latest iteration maintains the existing cafeteria as part of the community space. The original kindergarten/first grade classroom wing will be maintained for the UPK program, with the fact those rooms included self-contained restrooms a big reason why.

Total approximate costs for the LES-UPK building upgrades are $24.5 million. The monthly cost increase for the average home was presented as roughly $20.92 for Bedford, $17.96 for Lewisboro, $10.42 for North Salem, and $27.23 for Pound Ridge.

Board member Marjorie Schiff noted that universal pre-K is not discretionary, it is actually a mandate — and unusually, it is funded, unlike the “unfunded mandates” that are always complained about. 

She said it is also unusual that not only was the pre-K proposal in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget maintained in the versions presented by the Senate and Assembly, it was enhanced. She said this is a clear sign that the program is becoming a reality.

Blanch touted community uses that will serve recreational needs and other activities, including a gym and cafeteria that can be used by Lewisboro’s Parks and Recreation department for summer camp, with the advantage of having a central space that can be used by the camps on bad weather days.

The plan was met with critical comments from two speakers during the public comment period. 

Erika Glick, who operates a preschool and was a candidate for a board seat in 2022, said the financing plan was inadequate for a pre-K program, oversimplified and underfunded. 

“The district is now asking taxpayers to approve a $24.5 million bond to revive a building that has been allowed to fall into disrepair for many years,” she said, with the public being asked to make a very large investment to launch a program whose financial model is already strained. 

She said universal pre-K is not free; it is publicly funded. She thought too much of the funding is “anticipated” and that early childhood education needs to be built on a foundation that is financially honest, or it cannot be sustained.

Richard Sklarin, a Lewisboro Town Board member, said the plan was economically inappropriate during a time when taxpayers are hurting.

He said, “$25 million for a nine classroom suite, to house up to 152 4-year-olds, doesn’t make any sense in this environment.” 

He suggested that there is ample space available in other buildings, as a result of the district’s declining enrollment, that could be adapted to pre-K use at much lower expense. He also said the district does not have a good record of maintaining facilities, pointing to what happened to LES and the Shady Lane building “in only 10 years,” and attributing that to financial strains. Sklarin also claimed the community uses being promised for the property are inadequate.

Capital reserve authorization

Another proposition on the May ballot would authorize the use of funds from the district’s Renovations and Upgrades Capital Reserve that was authorized in 2015. There was a separate presentation of athletic, recreational and safety and security improvements to various district facilities, also prepared with the assistance of H2M Architects. These include athletic infrastructure renovations and upgrades, in accordance with the district’s Building Condition Survey, improvements to the JJHS track and AP fields, and other necessary athletic facility upgrades and renovations; as well as improvements to safety and security systems, including exterior door replacements, ADA improvements and floor resurfacing.

The expenditure is not to exceed an estimated total cost of $2.5 million, with project components able to be reallocated as determined by the board.