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Putnam Valley Letter: Vote 'No' On School Referendum

PUTNAM VALLEY, N.Y. – The Putnam Daily Voice accepts signed letters to the editor. Please send letters to putnam@dailyvoice.com.

Putnam Valley's school referendum ison Dec. 8.

Putnam Valley's school referendum ison Dec. 8.

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To the editor: 

The Putnam Valley School District will be asking voters to come out on Dec. 8, in the midst of the busiest time of the holiday season, to vote on a $10 million dollar capital reserve (slush) fund. 

This initiative will be in addition to the money raised in the regular budgets that are now above $47 million per year. It is really disgraceful that our school board and highly paid superintendent have refused our requests to postpone the vote so that citizens can become better informed before making such an important decision. Even in a good year, only a small number of residents come out in May for the regular budget vote, so I imagine the turnout in December will be minuscule. 

If this reserve fund is voted in by the small minority of residents who will support virtually any expenditure, no matter how ridiculous or unnecessary, we will see our school taxes continue to skyrocket. As it is, many residents of Putnam Valley who have mortgages and $10,000 a year property taxes find that living here has become nearly unsustainable.

To add insult to injury, once the fund is put in place, any extra money that is over budget can be stashed away as a "capital reserve" instead of going to lower the tax levy. Keep in mind that our buildings and infrastructure are well maintained and virtually new; plus maintenance money is already in the yearly budget. 

Taking all this into consideration, you have to ask, if this is such a great idea, then why not have the vote when a majority of stakeholders can participate? To be perfectly cynical, and knowing the cast of characters on the school board, not one of whom can be said to have the taxpayers' interest at hearts. 

Meanwhile, I urge anyone reading this to vote "No" on Dec. 8 and to get out the word to as many people as possible. Voting will take place at the high school from 3 to 9 p.m. and absentee ballots are available at the school district website

Patty Villanova

Putnam Valley

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