Use of Amenia Elementary building continues to spark discussion


 

WEBUTUCK — The Webutuck Board of Education held a facilities meeting last Wednesday, Jan. 21, which was attended by members of the Amenia Town Board, to take a more in-depth look into the future of the Amenia Elementary School building.

Both the Pine Plains and Webutuck school districts are facing significant budget cuts under Gov. David Paterson’s fiscal plan and both towns have looked at closing a school building. While Pine Plains has voted to keep its buildings open and reconfigure its student body, Webutuck may be forced to take more drastic measures.

The Amenia Elementary building seems most likely to be closed, but no decisions have been made and closing the Millerton Elementary building is still being considered. The Amenia Town Board, and town Supervisor Wayne Euvrard, are vocal in their desire to move Town Hall into the elementary school building if it were closed.

Discussions are progressing, according to school Superintendent Richard Johns, who said the town is very receptive to the idea of buying the building.

If the Webutuck Board of Education decides to close the Amenia building, it could do so in two ways: It could sell the building to the highest bidder, or it could simply give the building to the town (technically, it would need to be sold at some value; Johns suggested $1).

If the board decides to give the building away, the decision would have to be approved by a school district vote.Selling to the highest bidder would be akin to selling school equipment, and would be up to the determination of the Board of Education.

Both Johns and town Councilman Norman Cayea were under the impression that the board was leaning toward giving the building away. Cayea said he thought it was unlikely that the town would be able to afford the cost of the building if the school district optioned to sell to the highest bidder. Board of Education president Dale Culver was not available for comment by press time.

"We have a lot of questions about the building," said Cayea. "We want to know all we can about the school, including utility bills, inspection reports and repairs that need to be done. But generally it’s all favorable."

Johns reported that the next step for the district is to set up informational forums in Millerton and Amenia. While there are no dates set, the Amenia forum will be held at the Town Hall and will be televised, while the Millerton forum will be held in the Millerton Elementary School auditorium.

"We’re working quite well together," Cayea said. "Now we have to get together to sell it to the public."

The next Board of Education meeting will be held Monday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 p.m. at the high school. The next Amenia Town Board meeting will be held on Thursday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.

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