$87M Tarrytown Capital School Bond on Ballot Tuesday

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Tarrytown residents will vote at Washington Irving Elementary School Dec. 12.

December 10, 2023

By Rick Pezzullo—

Voters in the Tarrytown School District will be heading to the polls Tuesday to decide on an $87 million capital school bond.

Voting on Dec. 12 will take place from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tarrytown residents will cast their votes at Washington Irving, while Sleepy Hollow residents will go to the polls at Morse school.

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The estimated total cost of all the projects planned in all district school facilities is $92.7 million, but district officials will be utilizing $6 million in savings. District officials are stressing that about 53% of the total project costs ($53 million) will be reimbursed by New York State through Building Aid.

“We want the best possible educational setting for all our children,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Raymond Sanchez has said in lobbying for the bond’s passage. “This project is about building a better tomorrow.”

District officials have contended many of the classrooms, averaging about 550 square feet, are too small to accommodate many of the 2,700 students. Sanchez said classrooms should be between 750 and 800 square feet.

In addition, the aging school buildings are in need of upgrades and infrastructure improvements.

Winfield L. Morse Elementary School, which serves grades 1-2, and Washington Irving Elementary School, which serves grades 3-5, are slated to receive four-story additions. Washington Irving will also get 11 new classrooms.

The Morse school work is estimated at $34.6 million, while the Washington Irving school work is estimated at $39 million.

Athletic field upgrades, including a new track and bleachers, are planned on the Sleepy Hollow High School/Middle School campus at a price tag of about $9 million.

John Paulding School, which houses Pre-K and Kindergarten students, will receive $4.5 million in improvements, while the district will also be making infrastructure improvements and replacing the playground at the Tappan building, which will be used again by the district for kindergarten. That work will cost $5.5 million.

If the bond is rejected, district officials have said they would have to address building needs on a case-by-case basis, impeding the ability for effective, long-term planning. Costs for the work would have to be budgeted for and paid from the district’s operating budget, potentially causing spikes in the tax levy. In addition, some expenses would no longer be eligible for state funding.

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