Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Dear members of the Monroe-Woodbury community,
You may hear discussions in the community related to the upcoming Orange-Ulster BOCES capital project and referendum vote scheduled for Tuesday, October 25, 2022. I am writing to explain why the Monroe-Woodbury Board of Education, on behalf of our residents, does not support the proposed BOCES project at this time.
Representatives from BOCES attended a Monroe-Woodbury Board meeting on August 3, 2022. View the presentation here.
The $165 million project would be financed by BOCES’ component school districts. Our portion of the project would equal $22.6 million or 13.7 percent of the total project cost. The BOCES proposed capital project would increase the district’s general fund budget by approximately $1,096,000 or 0.54 percent, and would increase our tax levy by 0.85 percent. M-W would be required to pay $1,096,000 each year of the borrowing agreement, which is projected at 20 years.
At this time, the Monroe-Woodbury Board of Education cannot endorse the proposed $165 million project due to a lack of transparency, as well as limited information and communication from BOCES since the initial presentation was made to the Board in early August.
To be clear, we fully support the programs currently offered by BOCES. The 160 M-W students (90 CTE and 70 special education) who are enrolled in their programs benefit from high quality educational experiences.
However, we are asking Monroe-Woodbury residents to please let their voices be heard on Tuesday, October 25. It’s critical for our residents to VOTE NO, requiring BOCES to reevaluate the scope and funding formula for the proposed project to ensure a more equitable distribution of costs among the component districts.
County residents may vote at any component district. A list of voting sites can be found here. In Monroe-Woodbury, the vote will take place at the Education Center, 278 Route 32, Central Valley from 12 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Please reach out to me directly at [email protected] with any questions.
Sincerely,
Michael Ciriello
President
Monroe-Woodbury Board of Education