Cornwall Central School District proposes three-part capital plan, board to put measures before voters in May
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Summary
The district presented a three‑proposition capital project that addresses $78 million in identified needs: a $44.5M tax‑neutral infrastructure package, a $21M classroom addition with partial tax impact, and a $14.6M athletic‑fields plan that would raise taxes. The board will vote on the final proposition language before a May 19 ballot vote.
Bridal Carty, a member of the Cornwall Central School District Board of Education, told a packed community forum that the facilities committee is recommending a three‑proposition capital project that will appear on the May 19 ballot alongside the annual school budget and board elections. The plan responds to roughly $78,000,000 in needs identified by the district’s most recent building condition survey.
The committee structured the proposal as three dependent propositions. Proposition 1 packages critical districtwide infrastructure — including modernized fire‑alarm, public‑address and clock systems; select roof and floor‑decking repairs; high‑school bathroom and concession completion required by the State Education Department; and facility upgrades at district offices — at an estimated $44,500,000. Carty said that amount can be funded without increasing taxes by using existing capital reserve funds, state building aid and recently expiring debt service.
Proposition 2 would fund classroom additions and targeted building expansions (about $21,000,000 total). The committee estimates roughly half of that cost can be covered from capital reserves and state aid; the remaining roughly $10,700,000 would carry a partial tax impact. Under the plan, Cornwall Elementary School would gain eight classrooms (a stacked four‑over‑four addition), Cornwall On Hudson would receive a cafeteria/kitchen renovation that creates new classroom space, and the middle school would add three classrooms by connecting its B and C wings.
Proposition 3 would finance athletic‑field work, including relocating baseball and softball fields, installing synthetic turf for multi‑sport use, drainage and retaining‑wall work, lighting and dugouts. That proposition is estimated at $14,600,000 and would require new tax levy funding; it can only pass if Propositions 1 and 2 also pass under the ballot’s waterfall structure.
District staff outlined sequence and design logic. Walter Moran, the district’s director of facilities, said the middle‑school kitchen is structurally failing; the recommended approach is to build a new cafeteria and kitchen first so food service remains uninterrupted while the old kitchen is renovated and repurposed for instructional space. Moran also emphasized code‑driven items such as backflow preventers and fire‑safety devices that the district must install.
Carty provided household tax‑impact examples using a $300,000 assessed value as a marker: Proposition 2’s remaining tax portion was shown as about $180 per year (about $15/month) and Proposition 3 at roughly $225.10 per year (about $18.75/month); if all three propositions passed, the combined additional cost was estimated around $405 per year (about $34/month). Carty noted that the board will vote on final proposition language at its upcoming meeting and the district will publish the forum’s presentation slides online for public review.
The next procedural steps include a board vote to finalize propositions (the board meeting was scheduled for the 23rd) and the public vote on May 19 between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.
