School building referendum June 22

By TOM KANE

RIVER VALLEY — Supporters and opponents of the proposed Sullivan West new high school construction project are gathering their resources to get out the vote on June 22.

Those in favor support the proposed state-aided high school for students in the merged district, encompassing Jeffersonville-Youngsville, Narrowsburg and Delaware Valley schools. Those who oppose the proposal have suggested as one alternative that existing facilities be extensively renovated and used to house all students.

In addition to the high school, two other propositions will be put before voters: a proposition to build an eight-lane pool, and one to add 300 seats to the auditorium. The charts below, reprinted from the Sullivan West Central School District newsletter, delineate costs and tax impact of the various propositions.

“It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to reject this project and put the money into renovating the existing buildings,” said School Superintendent Michael Johndrow. “We have been told by all the experts that we will outgrow the three schools in the very near future, if we haven’t outgrown them already.” Johndrow added that a positive vote makes logical sense since Sullivan West is a merged district. “Why did we merge if not to improve antiquated buildings and construct a new high school for the 21st century?” he asked.

	Costs	State Aid	Local Effort
Delaware Valley	9,763,883	9,275,689	488,194
Jeffersonville/Youngsville	5,482,809	5,208,669	274,140
Narrowsburg	5,939,135	5,642,179	296,957
New High School	$28,712,626	19,435,845	9,276,781
Total Costs	$49,898,453	$39,562,381	$10,336,072

A chief opponent of the new high school is Arthur Norden, a member of the committee that studied the merger three years ago.

“Total efficiencies gained by the new high school would amount to three teachers,” Norden said. “And they would most likely be used for remediation because of the new standards enjoined by the State Education Department.”

“That simply isn’t true,” Johndrow responded. “As an example, each of the three schools has a physics teacher with only a few students. With a new school, those students would be combined into one class and the two teachers freed up could offer a college placement course in physics or another science. That’s the kind of thing that will be made possible by the new high school.”

Click to see the chart of projected tax impact

Norden also claimed that the incentive aid offered by the state is already earmarked. “No more money will be coming into the district other than from the pockets of the taxpayer,” he said.

“That isn’t true either,” Johndrow said. “We have $13.5 million in incentive operating aid over 14 years and will use it to support the educational programs in the new high school and the renovated schools.”

The vote will be held on Thursday, June 22. Polls open at 12 noon and close at 9:00 p.m. Polling places for the respective former districts are the Jeff-Youngsville school building, the Delaware Valley school building and the Tusten Cochecton Library.