'The voters have spoken' on the Maple Avenue School, board president says
Chester. The school board will re-evaluate "the previous and new options" to address the district's need for athletic facilities and the fate of the old school, says school board president Frank Sambets.
Chester /
| 04 Mar 2020 | 02:37
Eighth grade students present the Chester school board with a proposal to go to Rocking Horse Ranch for their field trip. (
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Samantha Caban speaks to the Chester school board about her proposal for a badminton club as Principal John Flanagan looks on. (
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The Chester school board briefly discussed the defeat of the district’s plans for an athletic facility to replace the 1935 Maple Avenue School.
"I’d like to make a statement from the board,” said Frank Sambets, the board president, at the board's Feb. 26 meeting.
“I’d like to thank all the members of the public who came out for yesterday’s referendum. The district put forward a proposal, based on the district’s need and working within certain constraints. The district felt that the proposal offered some of the best possible solutions, given the circumstances. Now the voters have spoken and the district will be re-evaluating the previous, and new options to address the athletic facilities and needs of Maple Avenue issue. So in the coming days, the district will be working to develop a process for continued community engagement and will provide more information about that process over the next few weeks as we move forward. And again, we appreciate everyone coming out and voting.”
The referendum held on Feb. 25 was 626-208 against the district's proposal to borrow $7.9 million to build a field house and multi-sport athletic field on the site of the old school. The proposal involved demolishing the school to make way for the new facilities.
In the run-up to the referendum, district officials said this proposal was the most viable among five options it had considered, including making repairs for an estimated $4 million, mothballing the school without making repairs, selling the building, or leasing the building. The school district had leased the building from 2004 to 2019 to Orange-Ulster BOCES. The district said BOCES terminated the lease in part because of the building's deteriorating condition.
MORE SCHOOL NEWS
The following took place at Chester's Feb. 12 school board meeting:
Planned visit to the United Nations -- Fifth-grade teachers, led by Rebecca Quackenbush, proposed a trip to the United Nations as part of their human rights curriculum. Students are presently reading copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A visit to the United Nations would allow them to see the actual document and get a private tour at the place where decisions about human rights are debated. Students will also be bringing letters they wrote on climate change. Afterwards, students will design a social change project on an issue they care about.
The importance of kindness -- Principal Cathy O’Hara spoke about several initiatives, including social-emotional growth and the importance of kindness. Students are taught the importance of resilience and perseverance in all things.
Green initiatives -- Through the efforts of a student “Green Team,” inspired by teachers, recycling is now picked up twice a week — a first. Students are participating with the local library in the Trex Challenge, where they collect plastic film, which goes to Trex to make their decking product. Principal O’Hara said she was proud of the maker space and the activities there that link to the curriculum. She noted their robotics program in the elementary school was recently highlighted in The Times Herald Record. She thanked the maintenance crew, which had just completed Danny Mulvey’s Lego Innovation Center.
Social-emotional learning -- Second grade teachers Patricia Keogh and Jennifer Rende spoke about “growth mindset," a key component of social-emotional learning. “You don’t give up, you don’t say I can’t, you say I may not be there yet, but I won’t give up, even if I find it difficult,” is how they encourage students to think. he second graders also completed a build-a-bridge activity in the maker space. Eighth graders partnered with the younger students and all called it a success. Students learned to plan, collaborate, build and revise if necessary. Later they took the important step of reflecting on the experience to draw lessons.
Badminton, anyone? Student Samantha Caban proposed a trial badminton club with a faculty advisor. Students will do fundraising for the equipment, expected to be $120. The board agreed Caban should go forward with organizing a trial badminton club for March-May.
Cyber success -- Principal John Flanagan noted that student Caleb Garver represented Chester Academy as part of a five-person team at Orange Ulster BOCES that placed second in the Gold Division of the NYS Cyber Patriot Youth Cyber Defense Competition.
Field trip plans -- Eighth grade students proposed Rocking Horse Ranch for their field trip and presented the board with research they have done for the project. Proposed dates are May 26 or June 9. A number of outdoor water sports and other activities would be involved, along with a barbeque lunch and a dinner.
Music grant -- Chorus teacher Rachel Scali received congratulations for looking for opportunities to enrich Chester’s music program. Mrs. Scali won a grant for the eighth year in a row to bring musical talent to the school.