Chappaqua BOE Votes Down BOCES Capital Plan

In voting unanimously not to fund its share of the proposed , Chappqua school board members sent a message that the group can do better.

“For BOCES, it represents the fact that we have to do our due diligence," said Board member Victoria Tipp on the impact of a no vote.

The Chappaqua Central School District, one of 18 member districts, was asked to pay a $1.5 million share, a formula based on factors such as property values and student attendance. When the plan was last discussed in December, school board members expressed concern with the high cost and the proposal's quality.

School Board Vice President Jeffrey Mester described the plan as lacking in economics, analysis, "and a whole host of other lacks."

The capital plan, which calls for major work on a therapeutic pool, roof and HVAC repairs, needed unanimous support from all of its member school boards in order to move forward. According to school board President Alyson Kiesel, the no vote means that BOCES will go back to the drawing board.

Going forward, board members offered to help BOCES with a new proposal and to work with fellow member districts on it.

“I think there could be a lot of help we could bring to the process," Kiesel said about the district's buildings and grounds experiences. She noting that the district has buildings that are about the same age.