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Haldane Marriage Is Our Future
Dear Editor:
The letter last week from a Garrison critic of my proposal to consolidate Haldane with neighboring school districts used some rather unneighborly language to describe me while missing my point. The shotgun marriage imagery I employed does not imply that Haldane will dictate terms to Garrison, Soviet style. Rather, a democratic decision to merge will leave some people in all participating districts unhappily going along for the ride. The negotiation between districts would result in an agreement that a majority could live with, if not love.
However, I am willing to take a hit and turn the other cheek for a just cause, so I hereby forgive the gentleman from the sovereign district of Garrison. Perhaps someday we will be sitting next to each other at the same school board meetings.
The "just cause" here is helping people keep their homes in the place they choose to live and not be forced to sell due to the inability to pay increasingly higher taxes. Merging school districts is one option to explore to see if major cost savings can be achieved while still providing high quality education for our youth.
Now is a particularly good time to begin this exploration since we are facing an 8 million dollar renovation of Haldane's infrastructure. If long time Haldane Board members Dave Merandy and Michael Junjulas think much of the renovation is absolutely necessary, then you can bet your bottom tax dollar that it is. Both are experienced, knowledgeable, and trustworthy.
My concern is the long-term sinking of tax dollars into 1934 and 1964 vintage buildings. Will there be more bonds for more renovations in 2012, 2016, and 2020, in addition to annual budgets with tax hikes that make people sweat? This is not occurring in a vacuum either. Our County Executive, Mr. 40%, has tax bills for us to pay too.
Real long-term planning for Haldane should have a 2-track approach: hold the fort by making only absolutely necessary repairs and start the exploration for merging Haldane with our neighbors. Consolidation with Garrison, Putnam Valley, or both might gives us new buildings or access to Putnam Valley's recently constructed buildings. They may not want to join us but they might if we present good reasons, monetary and educational, for doing so.
We may be in a recession, neighbors are on unemployment, and some people are stuck in crummy jobs 2 hours from home making less money than they earned in 2001. On the train I see former Cold Springers getting on in Peekskill or already sitting there from Beacon. One vowed never to step foot in Cold Spring again because mind-boggling taxes made him sell the house his family loved.
Haldane can't go it alone. We need help.
Joseph Barbaro
Cold Spring
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