Pelham school district voters Tuesday approved a $56.2 million bond to fund infrastructure and repair projects at four schools and a second bond totaling $42.6 million for an expansion at Siwanoy Elementary School that would make the building compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Two propositions to fund an addition at Pelham Memorial High School and geothermal wells at two elementary schools were rejected.
The district’s $96.3 million annual budget passed 1,427-897, as did a proposal to purchase the house at 29 Franklin Place for office space on a 1190-1118 vote, a margin of 72.
That wasn’t the only close vote of the evening.
Due to the way the school board structured the bond vote, Proposition 1 (infrastructure) had to be approved for any of the others to pass, and it did so by a margin of 299. However, Proposition 2 (Siwanoy) squeaked by with an edge of just 80 votes out of 2,316 cast on the proposal, while Proposition 3 (the PMHS addition) failed by 39 votes.
The vote totals for the four bond propositions are in the following table:
| Yes | No | |
|---|---|---|
| Proposition 1 (Infrastructure) | 1,309 | 1,010 |
| Proposition 2 (Siwanoy) | 1,198 | 1,118 |
| Proposition 3 (PMHS) | 1,139 | 1,178 |
| Proposition 4 (Geothermal) | 940 | 1,374 |
Running unopposed, Trustees Natalie Marrero, Will Treves and Jackie De Angelis were confirmed in their bids for second, three-year terms on the Pelham Board of Education.
The 2025-2026 budget boosts spending 2.9% and the tax levy 3.48%, which equals the state-set cap on increases.
According to data provided by the school district, Proposition 1 will not raise property taxes because previous borrowings for an addition at Colonial Elementary School and the construction of Hutchinson Elementary School will be paid off as the new projects progress, so funds budgeted for that debt service can be used to pay off the new bonds. For Proposition 2, a home with an assessed value of $1.19 million will see its taxes increase $481 per year, the district estimated. The school system has a tax calculator for the bond propositions here that allows users to plug in their actual home value.
After De Angelis announced the results in the Pelham Middle School gym, she said, “The budget is a very important part for the community to pass. The infrastructure and Siwanoy bond proposition passing is great news. It means we can get critical work done as well as make Siwanoy ADA compliant and alleviate overcrowding. With respect to the high school and geothermal bonds not passing, while disappointing, we’ll learn more about why it didn’t pass and perhaps bring something to voters in the future.” De Angelis is president of the school board.
Treves said, “I’m delighted Siwanoy is going to get some long overdue improvements, and we’ll have to think about what the future of the high school looks like in more depth.”
Here are additional specifics on the four bond propositions as approved by the school board (the two in bold were passed by voters):
- Proposition 1: $56.2 million for infrastructure projects at Colonial, Prospect Hill, PMS and PMHS, including central AC at Prospect Hill and Colonial. Other work will include window replacements, roof repairs, masonry restoration and replacing end-of-life steam boilers in Colonial, Prospect Hill and PMHS.
- Proposition 2: $42.6 million to install elevators, ramps and other improvements to make Siwanoy compliant with the ADA, renovate space under the gym into a new cafeteria and build a two-story, eight-classroom expansion, with a net gain of three classrooms because existing rooms will be lost after construction of the elevators and cafeteria. The building will also see infrastructure upgrades similar to those listed for the other schools in Proposition 1, including replacing boilers and installing central AC.
- Proposition 3: $40.4 million for the addition to PMHS, which would have run along Ingalls Field between PMHS and PMS and added eight new science labs and a commons/cafeteria space. Existing science labs on the third floor of the PMHS annex would also have been updated as part of the project.
- Proposition 4: $4.5 million for geothermal systems at Siwanoy and Prospect Hill.
Approval of the purchase of 29 Franklin Place allows the district to spend as much as $1.85 million to purchase and renovate the house on the property for offices. The project will be funded out of reserve funds and have no impact on taxes, the district said.
The vote totals for the three unopposed school board incumbents were:
- Natalie Marrero: 1,696
- Will Treves: 1,687
- Jackie De Angelis: 1,703
“For now, I think we’re going to concentrate on the propositions that did pass, said Marrero, who is school board vice president. “There’s a lot of work to do. Now that I have another three years on the board, I hope other members of the board will continue the plan of bringing the high school to 21st Century standards.”
Editor’s note: Clay Bushong, owner of 29 Franklin Place, is a member of the board of directors of the Hudson Valley Local News Lab Inc., which owns and publishes the Pelham Examiner. He had no role in the production of this story.
