Last night, the Brewster Central School District Board of Education approved a resolution to place a referendum on a December 7, 2021 ballot. The referendum asks voters for approval to acquire a parcel of land and the building on it for $500,000.
The district was approached by the homeowner of 90 Farm To Market Road in Brewster, New York. Given the location of the property within the district’s otherwise contiguous campus, the district has explored the opportunity while doing its due diligence. “The timing of this opportunity could not have been any better,” said Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Victor Karlsson. “The district had been planning an extensive review of its facilities with a group of staff and community members, assembled as the Facilities Planning Task Force (FPTF) since last April. This group was instrumental in providing us with a soundboard to the greater community, and it seems like the general consensus is that the acquisition of this property would provide the district with greater flexibility in its long-term capital planning.”
The district's Finance Committee also weighed in on the acquisition. “The Finance Committee noted the minimal impact this property would have on the remaining
taxpayers after being removed from the assessment roll,” Karlsson said. “In each of the three towns within the Brewster Central School District, homes with an average assessed value would see a tax increase of less than $1 per year.”
To pay for the property, the district plans to utilize its savings. No additional taxes will be levied in order to complete the transaction. “This acquisition would afford the district the opportunity to reconfigure the existing John F. Kennedy Elementary School campus to improve instructional programs,” Board of Education President Kerry Cunningham said.
It is anticipated that the tennis courts, which are approaching the end of their useful life and are due to be replaced, will be relocated to this new property. Parking for the tennis courts and the adjacent track will also be added. Relocating the tennis courts will create space on the opposite side of John F. Kennedy Elementary School for future building expansions in order to reduce class sizes and add programs for our youngest learners.
For more information, please visit our website: https://www.brewsterschools.org/Page/3103
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