Letters to the Editor

Bring Siwanoy into ADA compliance but don’t force residents to ‘fund bad projects and pay higher taxes’

March 10, 2025

To the editor:

As a Siwanoy Elementary School parent and direct neighbor to the school, I have taken a keen interest in the board of education bond process these past few months. I want to thank the board for listening to the community. However, this has felt flawed and rushed from the start, and I urge community members to educate themselves on what is being proposed.

A home assessed at $1 million will owe $15,920 in school tax using the proposed 2025-2026 budget. This bond proposal will help that number reach $19,000 in the next 5 years. And it will only grow from there.

Siwanoy needs Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, but the $28 million proposal includes classrooms the school doesn’t need. The $39 million middle/high school project is bigger, but that campus is stretched beyond its limits. We should build only what is needed and limit new debt.

Forcing Pelham residents to fund bad projects and pay higher taxes to get ADA compliance at Siwanoy is an unfair choice. We can do what’s right without $141 million of new debt. I would hate to see a no vote on a “too-big” bond further delay ADA compliance at Siwanoy.

Adam Ilkowitz

498 Manor Lane

Comments (2)

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Rob Condon • Mar 10, 2025 at 5:09 pm

Thank you, Adam. Your involvement and advocacy is greatly appreciated by the Siwanoy community, neighbors and parents alike. With the fine weather we’ve experienced over the past couple of days, it has been a joy to see children and families enjoying the Siwanoy playground again on the weekend and afterschool. We have such little precious community outdoor space in Pelham Manor. It’s a shame that we stand to lose over a third of the playground permanently to an overwrought vanity project, and shocking that the playground will be essentially unusable for at least three years. I’ve likewise encouraged the Board and district to come back with a sensible plan for ADA compliance that minimizes construction impact on students and the community, not to mention tax impact, and encourage others to speak up and be heard.


https://pelhamexaminer.com/75080/letters-to-the-editor/bring-siwanoy-into-ada-compliance-but-dont-force-residents-to-fund-bad-projects-and-pay-higher-taxes/#comment-2811
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  Arthur Long • Mar 12, 2025 at 12:20 pm
  
  Both you and Adam make excellent points. Unfortunately “overwrought vanity projects” seem to be a popular form of local Pelham government construction these days. I hope they can be avoided here.
  
  
  https://pelhamexaminer.com/75080/letters-to-the-editor/bring-siwanoy-into-ada-compliance-but-dont-force-residents-to-fund-bad-projects-and-pay-higher-taxes/#comment-2817