Carmel board hears playground and scoreboard grant status; Putnam County outlines $2M school-safety mapping plan
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Summary
The board received updates that a $100,000 inclusion-playground grant is proceeding pending a missing document to DASNY and that a $51,000 gym scoreboard grant faces vendor EIN issues. Putnam County has proposed using $2 million in county allocations for tactical campus mapping and first-responder integration through Critical Response Group.
District administrators told the board on Oct. 21 that two capital grants are moving forward but require administrative follow-up. A $100,000 inclusion-playground grant for Matthew Patterson Elementary and Kent Primary School has had a missing signature but the necessary document was submitted and the district expects approval from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY). A separate Crest Grant for a high-school gym scoreboard, approximately $51,000, is delayed while the vendor resolves an EIN/registration issue that affects state purchasing requirements.
Separately, administration described a Putnam County proposal to use approximately $2 million allocated through ARP-related county funding to create tactical, map-based emergency-response products for all county school campuses. The county intends to contract with Critical Response Group to produce high-resolution campus maps and integrate them with dispatch systems to improve first-responder response. The district reported meetings with county and BOCES officials and said participation and scheduling are pending final BOCES approval and contracting.
Why it matters: The inclusion playground grant would provide accessible playground equipment for students with special needs. The scoreboard grant would improve the high-school gym facility but requires procurement compliance. The proposed county-funded tactical mapping could provide real-time location data to emergency dispatchers and first responders, a change administrators described as a "life-saving technology." Trustees welcomed the updates and the district said it would follow up on procurement and contracting issues.