Chester Union Free School District begins discussion surrounding Maple Ave. building

The Chester Union Free School District’s Maple Avenue Task Force met for the first time on Monday, October 16, to gather input and facilitate a discussion of options and considerations for the future of the former school building located on Maple Avenue.

The District said it needs to make a decision on the Maple Avenue building “reflective of the future needs of its students and the input of the Chester community.” The decision will be put before the community for a vote at a future date to be determined.

Superintendent Catherine O’Hara laid out objectives for the task force. “The task force acts as an initial step in the decision-making process, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of the community’s preferences and concerns related to the Maple Avenue building,” she said. “This group allows us to have a smaller platform with community stakeholders prior to our presentation in a larger community forum.”

The building, previously Chester High School, was built in 1935 and 1965, but has been sitting vacant since 2019. From 2004 to 2019 it was leased to Orange-Ulster BOCES. According to its announcement, the district will retain the gym building and the athletic fields, which are currently being used.

On Nov. 8, there will be a presentation of Maple Avenue options for consideration at the District’s board of education meeting. Then on Nov. 20, the Maple Avenue Task Force will meet again to discuss results from the Community Survey, which will officially close at the end of day on Friday, November 3. On Nov. 21, there will be a presentation of the results from the Community Survey during the board of education meeting. On Nov. 29, there will be a presentation of options at a Community Forum that will include questions from the community.

The District presented the Maple Avenue Task Force with three options for the 1935 and 1965 sections of the building. It also requested other options to consider through a digital survey of the group to gather their insight. The three current options from the District are to: leave the building vacant (mothballed), list the building for sale, or demolish it.

The District also presented other ideas, which it determined not to be viable options, including transferring the property to a local municipality, which the district noted there was no formal interest in at this time. However, if there should be formal interest, this could become an option. Another solution initially considered was to lease it out, but due to the state of the building and liability concerns, this, too, was not feasible. The district also considered what it called a targeted sale to a specific entity, but per state educational law, when selling or disposing of school district property, school boards have a fiduciary responsibility to obtain the best price possible.

Members of the task force include representatives from the Chester Kiwanis, alumni, Chester Historical Society, the town and village of Chester, local residents adjacent to the property, the District’s Parent Advisory Panel, and historians from the town and village.

Visit the District website page dedicated to this process at chesterufsd.org/mapleavenue. For questions, email the District at mapleavenue@chesterufsd.org. The District noted that it will not be able to answer questions individually but will provide answers in an FAQ on its website.

Residents can also take the survey anonymously at the following link: tejoin.com/scroll/642763434. Alternatively, scan the QR code in the slide show above for direct access to the survey.