Katonah Lewisboro School Board seeks community input on Pre-K dilemma

By JEFF MORRIS 

Since the district’s bond proposition to fund a universal pre-K and community center at the former Lewisboro Elementary School failed on May 19, the administration and Board of Education have made community input and discussion of next steps a priority.

At the June 4 BOE meeting, Superintendent Raymond Blanch introduced the LES Path Forward concept, a key component of which is a survey of all school district residents. Postcards were sent out to nearly 15,000 addresses, with a QR code linking to the survey, which could also be accessed through a link on the district website. The survey will close July 7.

A detailed discussion took place at the June 18 board meeting, touching on the history behind closing the building as a school in 2014, its use and maintenance since, the state’s new universal pre-K requirement, and the considerations that went into the school building proposal and May’s bond proposition.

Possible community partnerships for pre-K were also discussed.

All of these topics were again brought up at a virtual Q&A session held June 22. There were no decisions made at either of these forums, nor was there any expectation of such an outcome. The timeline, as set out as part of LES Path Forward, is to present findings from the community survey at the July 30 school board meeting, along with a summary of the Q&A, focus groups, fiscal and facility analysis, and responses to a Request for Information sent to local preschools. The board is then to meet again Aug. 27, at which time it will discuss these findings and decide on the preferred path forward for both the old school building and pre-K. The plan is to move ahead with implementation of whatever is decided, in September.

Videos of both the June 18 meeting and June 22 session are available on YouTube. There were 50 participants in the Q&A session via Zoom at its height, and it has been viewed nearly 100 times on YouTube since.

Condition of Lewisboro Elementary School

As had been discussed multiple times, a Lewisboro/Shady Lane Utilization Committee was formed in 2024 to recommend the future of both the old school and the former district office property on Shady Lane. The district finance committee had determined in 2021 that the cost of maintaining the old school was not keeping up with the income from leasing the space to the town. Assistant Superintendent for Business Lisa Herlihy made clear that the issue of what to do with the building kept getting “kicked down the road” until problems with the facility could no longer be ignored. Facilities Director Mike Lavoie said repeated emergency repairs were made. At that point the town’s lease for office space and the Police Department was changed to a month-to-month basis. 

Asked about whether the district could have sold the building, Herlihy said the finance committee had determined a sale would be detrimental, because that one-time infusion of cash would permanently disrupt the district’s ability to stay within the tax cap. Others noted that it would have removed any option for future population increases or shifts of grade distributions that could at some point be needed.

Meanwhile, the state began discussing a change to pre-K funding that would increase the amount it provides from $5,400 to $10,000 per student, and Gov. Kathy Hochul included a universal pre-K mandate in this year’s budget, which was eventually passed.

Reconfiguring other buildings

The board, administrators, and representatives of architectural firm H2M all brought to light the impracticality, disruption and added costs that would be involved in reconfiguring other district buildings in order to locate UPK there, particularly the suggestion that fifth graders be moved to the middle school. The disruption that would be caused was contrasted with the relative ease of all the work needed being done in an unused building.

It was also asserted that centralizing universal pre-K in a district facility, rather than spreading it out among multiple community-based organizations, had educational advantages, and allowed oversight and supervision of the pre-K curriculum. Concerns about equity in providing spaces among a variety of providers were also raised.

While all the reasons the district would prefer a centralized location at LES were made clear, it was noted that responses still had to come in from providers to the RFI, and that those, along with the results of the community survey, would be considered on July 30.

Q&A session

Those on the June 22 panel included Blanch, Herlihy, and Lavoie, along with board President Lorraine Gallagher and Vice President Barbara Williams, and architect Niall Washburn of H2M. They responded to questions about many of the same issues that had already been discussed, again without having the community survey, RFI or other expected input.

One option that was mentioned is the possibility of a re-vote on the original proposition, depending on reactions that are received. 

A resident who was not happy with that was Craig Carroll of South Salem, who said the community was told that if the proposition failed, the building would ultimately be torn down. 

“Now, only weeks later, we’re back discussing future uses for the property, and being asked for feedback on issues that many residents raised before the vote,” he said. “The community came out in large numbers and voted it down. What was the purpose of holding a vote, if the result is not going to be respected?” (A letter from Carroll appears on page 6.)

Blanch said he did not recall the board ever saying the building would be torn down; he said they had discussed demolition as one of the possible outcomes, and talked about it costing several million dollars to do so. He also noted quite a few people have said they were not clear on what was being proposed, and that only about 3,000 out of 15,000 potential voters participated. 

Nearby residents raised questions about how the property would be fenced off, and expressed concerns about having an abandoned building in their midst. Peter Nardone of Katonah noted that Bedford residents already have recreational facilities, and wondered if the project could be cut back to eliminate the community center. Others reinforced the idea that many people are lacking information, specifically about the actual cost and the fact that universal pre-K is now a state mandate.

Gallagher said she appreciated the community coming out, and they looked forward to continuing to receive feedback and work on this during the summer.