Resident raises concerns over Jarretown elementary project; administration says issues will be investigated

Ginny Vitella Ambler addressed the board during the second public participation period and urged more scrutiny of the district's Jarretown elementary project.

"It doesn't seem right that we pick a project team...but we don't bid out to various different project teams," Vitella Ambler said, questioning whether the district had sufficiently sought competing architects and designs. She criticized an initial 'U‑shaped' building design as potentially wasting interior space and warned it could produce noise and intrusive light for nearby Kenmore families.

Vitella Ambler also raised site and program concerns: the fate of a recently installed outdoor classroom, the potential loss of athletic fields (she said some fields sit in a flood zone), missing amenities such as a scoreboard at the high school baseball field, and the disruptive effects of geothermal equipment placed near neighboring homes. She urged care given the "millions and millions of dollars" the district is spending and cautioned about unintended consequences.

In response, Dr. Smith told the board "many of the items that were mentioned in regards to the Jarrettown project are certainly under consideration" and said playgrounds, the outdoor classroom, fields and geothermal plans "will be investigated in detail."

The exchange did not result in a vote; Dr. Smith's statement indicates the administration will address the raised issues as part of ongoing project planning and community engagement.