UPDATE: Board of Education submits its comments on DEIS

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
by Christine Yeres

Last Friday, the deadline for written comment on the draft environmental impact statement for Chappaqua Crossing, the Chappaqua Central School District’s board of education weighed in with a report on the impacts to the school district of the proposed 278-unit condominium development.  The Board of Education enlisted the help of Western Suffolk BOCES, or Board of Cooperative Educational Services, to examine the fiscal impact to the school district of added student population.  The resulting report lists costs associated with additional students in five scenarios ranging from five to 214 added students. 

Cover letter to the Board of Education comments:

September 25, 2009

Ms. Barbara Gerrard, Supervisor
Town of New Castle
200 S. Greeley Avenue
Chappaqua, New York 10514

Dear Ms. Gerrard,

The Chappaqua Central School District (CCSD or “the district”) submits this letter and report in response to the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) for Summit Greenfield’s (SG) proposed Chappaqua Crossing (CC) residential development at the former Reader’s Digest Association (RDA) property. The CCSD thanks you and the Town of New Castle for the opportunity to make these comments.

In the district’s submission regarding the scoping document dated January 1, 2008 (attached), we noted several areas of concern. Specifically, we were concerned with the additional costs associated with increased enrollment, with the possible strains put on the district’s infrastructure, with the costs and disruptions associated with the redistricting the project may require the CCSD to undertake in order to maintain class size guidelines and avoid overcrowding in the schools, with the additional costs associated with an increase in students requiring special education, with the increase in related costs such as additional staffing and additional buses, and the significant anticipated increase in traffic, both during construction and after completion, that would have a direct detrimental impact on Horace Greeley High School.

With this submission, we reiterate those concerns but seek to emphasize the potential financial burden associated with student enrollment resulting from the development of Chappaqua Crossing. That enrollment includes school-age children residing in Chappaqua Crossing units and from new families moving into homes in the CCSD where previous owners have relocated to Chappaqua Crossing. We are concerned that, to the extent that Chappaqua Crossing units do not pay their “fair share”, this financial burden will be borne by all other CCSD taxpayers.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey S. Mester
President
CCSD Board of Education

The school board’s comments, a summary of the BOCES report:
Board of Education Comments on DEIS

The BOCES report:
BOCES Long-Range Planning Study for CCSD

Appendix to the BOCES report:
Appendix to BOCES Long-Range Planning Study for CCSD

Background —NCNOW article on the joint meeting to discuss DEIS comment by the Board of Education:
Town and school boards put their heads together to prepare for June 23 Chappaqua Crossing hearings
June 19, 2009

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