Identifying characteristics stated in items 1-5 would be a great start for an overhaul of how we manage our schools system. Also bundling extra curricular items within a budget is a threat and we are incensed every time we vote. It Is Not Right!
Very interesting Letter!
Mr Jacobowitz how is your thinking of redrawing district lines? As we cant control New windsor and harrimans zoning we certainly are paying for the effects of it.

I am told, by somebody far more knowledgeable than I am about school-board matters, that we soon will be given the opportunity to vote on a $39 million bond issue for a new football "stadium" for the high school, so that they have the proper facilities with which to move their football program up one level to a more competitive division, among other things.

But it won't actually be much of an opportunity. The school administrators and board know perfectly well that they can easily summon a bloc of about 2,500 guaranteed-pro voters, made up of parents, teachers, other school-system employees, high-school sports boosters, present and past board members and administration people, etc. Plus people like my wife and me, who have for 35 years reflexively voted "yes" for everything that our school system wanted, simply because we were proud of it and because it had done well by our own children.

This bloc is not an ethereal thing but a cadre well-coordinated through phone and e-mail lists and the like, and its power can easily be brought to bear. Nor will it hurt that, I am told, we will essentially have about 20 days between formal announcement of this bond issue as part of the school budget, and the vote.

This will be the first time since I moved to Cornwall, in 1971, that I'll vote "no" on a school budget.

If the school board and local parents really cared about Cornwall they would scrap the idea of the football stadium, and approach NYMA about sharing/utilizing their facilities.

With the current economic crisis, and the financial crisis at NYMA it just makes sense to try and combine issues financially. We could assist NYMA with their financial crisis, while saving money as tax payers. NYMA might not be part of the COH school system, but it is a school, with good fields.

As a resident of the Village I think it is a crime that the parents and school board attempt to use their children to extort more taxes out of the community, while giving no consideration to what is good for the overall community.

Each household needs to worry about all of the property taxes they pay, not just the school tax.

But unless we get as organized, or at least as coordinated, as the pro-budget people are, there will be no chance of overcoming a 2,500-vote lead. Which means suggestions for other courses that -might- be followed are just pipe dreams.

Ever wonder why a brand new football field at the brand new high school was never used for high school football games? I've never gotten a definitive answer to this, but I've heard that there were some design miscalculations relating to its dimensions that puts it in violation of rules & regulations. Maybe there's someone out there who could clear this up. If this is true, then the logic behind this budget process needs to be strictly analyzed. The high school buildings are perfectly designed for a photovoltaic solar array on two of its roofs, with the south-facing sections at an optimal angle to maximize electrical generation. If we're going to consider spending money no one has, then perhaps it should be toward a capital improvement project which would, over time, not only pay for itself, but become profitable.

Rick, that's exactly what I've heard--that the Dragon Drive football field can be used for practice all they want, but where do the league games get played? At the OLD football field at the former (Main Street) high school, which at least meets division rules re. dimensions, end zones, etc. But it's not a good enough field for the division into the school wants to move--not enough seating, etc.

Our very own "Friday Night Lights."

How about we do something with the school district that will increase the intellectual edge our graduating students have?

More capital improvements on buildings? When do we get to hear about improvements to the AP programs, the science labs or the mathematical abilities of the students??

The installation of a PV solar array on the school's roofs could easily include an academic component. A science class could, let's say, make a project of monitoring the electrical output from the array, and correlate it with weather patterns. An economy class could chart the electrical production against current electrical rates from Central Hudson and do various financial projections and cost/benefit analysis. The interface with the main service panel can easily be located in such a way as to permit this kind of relevant learning on many levels. All this, and making the school's meter spin backwards, too!