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Parent questions use of capital reserve for ECC renovations; board replies
Summary
A parent asked why the district would use Capital Reserve funds for renovations at the ECC building while the district has not yet purchased the property; district leaders said the purchase is expected and the contract locks the price, and they described the work as creating classroom space.
Karen Criscione, a public commenter, pressed the Woodland Park Board of Education on April 14 over plans to fund renovations at the Early Childhood Center (ECC) using the district’s Capital Reserve. "We shouldn’t be using taxpayer money on property we do not own yet," Criscione said, asking what would happen to taxpayer-funded improvements if the district ultimately decided not to purchase the property.
Superintendent Michele Pillari responded that the renovations are intended "to make more classroom space in building one" and said the district intends to purchase the property. Adam Weiss added that the purchase price "is negotiated in the contract and does not go up," a point the board presented to reassure the speaker that planned investments would not be lost to rising sale prices.
Criscione also asked whether a new Autism classroom at Charles Olbon would be an additional room or a restructuring of existing services; Pillari said the change is a restructure of the program. The exchange occurred during the public-comment portion of the meeting and preceded board votes that approved contractor engagement and planning steps for the ECC project.
The board did not reverse or delay the finance and planning items at the meeting; the Coppa-Montalbano Architects contract and plan submission to the Woodland Park Planning Board were approved as part of the finance agenda. The board did not provide a public timeline for property acquisition during the meeting.
