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Parents press Pelham district over delays to Prospect Hill outdoor classroom; district says a staff email was missed
Summary
Parents and a Prospect Hill committee raised concerns at the June 25 Pelham Union Free School District board meeting about a year-long delay to a funded outdoor-classroom project. The district said it has since submitted materials to the state and acknowledged a missed email but said the project can be coordinated with other summer work.
Members of the Prospect Hill Elementary School community told the Pelham Union Free School District Board of Education on June 25 that a community-funded outdoor classroom has not moved forward despite the committee's fundraising and paperwork.
"My name is Emily. I live at 60 Beech Tree Lane. I'm a parent of a rising second grader at Prospect Hill Elementary, here to convey both my personal perspective and the collective concerns of the fellow parents regarding the ongoing process at our outdoor classroom project," Emily Polley said, reading a set of letters from parents and grandparents who donated to the project.
Polley said the outdoor classroom committee mailed about 1,500 fundraising requests and raised roughly $75,000, and that committee members submitted what they believed to be complete paperwork to the district in the fall. She said the group was later told the district, as the official applicant, had submitted materials to the state in March, but that an email related to that submission sat unanswered in a staff inbox for roughly two months.
"We bear an obligation to either deliver the outdoor classroom timely as promised or refund the contributions received," Polley said. Other letters read into the record repeated the same themes: donors upset a year had passed with no visible progress, requests for a clear timeline, and a call for improved communication and accountability.
Superintendent Dr. Champ told the board the district's focus shifted this spring to a large bond and other major projects, and that district staffing is "very lean." She said when the committee flagged the delay, "responsibility was taken immediately by the individual, and the needed materials were submitted within 24 hours," adding that mistakes happen and that the district had rectified the omission.
"What that does mean is when there are major things on the plate and the priorities shift, things''we only have so many hours in the day," Champ said. She also said the State Education Department has recently increased staff, which she said should shorten review timelines going forward.
Assistant Superintendent for Facilities Jim (last name not given in the public record) addressed the board later and apologized for the missed email. "I missed an email. And in that, that created some, you know, some, disappointment in the committee," he said, and said the district has since submitted the outstanding materials and is prepared to move forward.
Board members and parents discussed coordinating the outdoor classroom construction with other upcoming work at Prospect Hill, including infrastructure and roofing projects approved in the district bond. Champ said coordination could avoid future conflicts with cranes or other heavy equipment and could be an advantage to do the work in a single effort. The district also agreed to improve communications with the PTA and the outdoor-classroom committee about next steps.
No formal action was taken at the meeting to change the project's status; the discussion was recorded during public comment and the superintendent's responses under the board's business agenda.
The exchange highlighted two constraints the committee cited as causes of delay: (1) the grant the project relies on must be approved by the state before construction can begin, and (2) the committee cannot submit the grant as the official applicant; the district must do so. District officials said they are the official applicant for the state grant and will continue to monitor the state's review and coordinate the project timeline with the recently passed bond work.
Polley and other signatories asked the board to provide a clear timeline, timely responses to state correspondence, and a dedicated district pointperson to prevent similar communication breakdowns. The board said it would take the letters and meeting comments under advisement and follow up with the committee about a timeline and next steps.
The Prospect Hill outdoor classroom remained a primary topic in public comment and in the superintendent's response for the first portion of the June 25 meeting; no final approvals or reassignments were recorded on the public docket that night.
