Board tables $15 million safety and building‑condition bond after trustees question scope and timing

The Carmel Central School District Board of Education on Feb. 15 heard a detailed presentation of a Building Condition Survey and a proposed $15,000,000 bond referendum intended to fund districtwide safety upgrades and priority facility repairs.

Assistant Superintendent John Fink and architect Pasquale Marchese outlined a package that includes remotely controlled exterior and interior door locks for roughly 1,150 doors, additional cameras (partly funded by a Smart Schools grant pending state approval), intruder‑resistant window film for first‑floor openings, exterior blue‑light warning systems, 28 weather‑protected automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and a set of building repairs identified in the BCS such as brick repointing, window replacement, electrical panel upgrades and ventilation improvements.

Marchese said the BCS work and safety items pulled from a larger $16 million priority list produced a near‑final engineering estimate of about $14.9 million; the administration rounded to $15,000,000 to align with expiring debt and financing timelines. "We were almost right there at $15,000,000," Marchese said, noting that the figure reflects equipment costs, escalation and contingency for a multi‑year rollout.

Several trustees said items in the package — including two new LED digital signs, gym partition replacements at several schools and AC work for staff kitchen areas — were not obviously safety‑critical and deserved additional vetting. Trustee Curzio and others asked for clearer prioritization and for vendor/alternative assessments; Trustee Wise and Trustee Curzio emphasized taxpayers’ appetite for careful prioritization amid broader budgetary pressures.

Board members also asked whether consultants who performed security audits (Alteris) had reviewed the final scope; administrators said Alteris had contributed earlier audit recommendations but had not yet reviewed the final packaged referendum and the board asked administration to have Alteris provide comment ahead of the next meeting.

After questions and public comment, Trustee Curzio moved and Trustee Wise seconded a motion to table the referendum until the board’s March 12 meeting to allow time for additional review, community input and an Alteris review. A roll‑call vote to table passed unanimously among members present (President Dahl, Vice President Kracow, Trustees Curzio, Douglas, Orser and Wise); one trustee was absent. The district’s bond counsel and finance team noted that tabling until March 12 still allowed time to meet initial publication deadlines for a later referendum advertising schedule.

The board did not adopt the referendum at the Feb. 15 meeting. Administrators said they will return with more detailed prioritization, cost breakdowns and consultant feedback at the March meeting so the board can decide whether to advance the measure to voters.