Pelham public commenters press board to include ADA fixes in Siwonoy plan and question geothermal, environmental review

Residents at the Pelham Union Free School District Board of Education meeting on March 26 pressed the board to include full Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades and classroom expansions at Siwonoy School in upcoming bond propositions, and several speakers raised questions about the district’s geothermal proposal and the environmental review.

Many parents and PTA members said Siwonoy lacks instructional space and basic accessibility. Erin DeSimone, a Siwonoy parent, said she supported the district’s Proposition 1 work but urged the board “to reconsider the decision to separate Siwonoy’s ADA from Proposition 1,” adding, “Ensuring accessibility for all of our residents regardless of ability must remain the District’s top priority.” Madeline Mercer, speaking as a PTA member, told the board her group had high turnout and growing support for the expansion, saying community sentiment “is perhaps not as mixed as the original public comment led you all to believe.” Diana Milano, a kindergarten parent at Siwonoy, said the family “fully support[s] getting the extra classrooms and the space that our children need to thrive.”

Supporters described concrete problems they said the project would fix. Maura, a former educator, recounted small, unsafe classroom layouts at Siwonoy and said students receive certain interventions in hallways or converted closets, adding that such arrangements “violate the student's right to confidentiality.” Maria Gerson described a personal example and referenced Brooke Ellison’s story to argue that schools should adapt to ensure students with disabilities can attend.

At the same time, several commenters urged more scrutiny of the district's planned geothermal systems and of the environmental review form (EAF) filed with the project. Rich Ellenbogen, who said he has installed geothermal systems, warned they can be more expensive to operate in areas with fossil-fuel-heavy grids and said he believed alternate systems could save $150,000 to $270,000 annually. A resident identified as Katie asked the board to “consider redoing that EAF,” saying the form published March 12 was “factually flawed, incorrect, and leads to a conclusion which I think is incorrect and avoids doing a full environmental impact analysis.” The resident said the architect filled the form and that notice to the village as lead agency occurred on Feb. 7; the speaker asked the board to give additional scrutiny to potential long-term environmental impacts, including flood and foundation risks near drilling sites.

Others raised affordability and timing concerns about the multi-proposition bond package. Steve Chikane, a resident, criticized past spending increases and warned the proposed borrowing would make the district among the most indebted in Westchester. He told the board that the combined borrowing in several propositions amounted to more than $140 million in new debt and said that could push tax increases higher than current projections. The board and administrators responded with budget and timing details, noting the district and its financial advisers had modeled scenarios and that debt-service timing and state building-aid schedules affect how quickly property owners would see tax changes.

Board members, administrators and staff repeatedly told speakers they had heard their concerns and that district staff would continue to refine project design and public materials. Superintendent Doctor Champ (full name on file with district) and district staff emphasized coordination with the villages of Pelham and Pelham Manor on stormwater/flood mitigation scheduling and said the district would publish additional voter information and tax-impact scenarios before the May 20 vote.

Ending

The board did not adopt any new construction action during public comment; later in the meeting members approved a resolution to place four bond propositions on the May ballot (details appear in the votes roundup). Administrators said they would distribute further materials, run community briefings and publish tax-impact calculators to help voters evaluate each proposition.