Board approves $11.8 million safety-and-security bond for May ballot and declares emergency infrastructure work

The Carmel Central School District Board of Education voted on March 26 to place a focused safety-and-security capital proposition on the May ballot and separately declared emergency infrastructure work.

Trustee Curzio summarized the multi-month committee process that produced a narrowed safety-and-security package, which now totals $11,800,280 and includes district-wide security cameras, interior and exterior door locks, intruder-resistant film for ground-level windows and doors, a VoIP lockdown system, a visitor-management system and automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Curzio said the revised proposal removed unrelated items that had previously inflated the dollar amount and that law-enforcement partners and the district's safety vendor supported the changes.

By roll-call the board approved the resolution to place the safety-and-security capital project on the May ballot; the board recorded affirmative votes from Vice President Crocco, President Dahl, Trustee Curzio, Trustee Douglas, Trustee Orser and Trustee Wise (Trustee Paraskeva was absent). The resolution moves the proposal to the community for a voter decision in May.

Separately, trustees declared an emergency (class A) to expedite repairs to a water tank the administration said risks failure and could force school closure. Administration explained the district had already authorized a $500,000 capital-reserve transfer for the work; declaring an emergency allows faster State Education Department (SED) review and could accelerate state aid timing if SED confirms the emergency.

Both the bond resolution and emergency declaration were presented with committee background and were approved as part of the board's general-action agenda.