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Vera is seeking to have the Dec. 8, 2015, vote set aside so that a new referendum can be held in May during the regular budget vote, as well as having a stay imposed so that no money can be moved to the reserve account until the commissioner has made a decision.
Vera contends the district and school board deliberately shortened the voting hours and had only one polling place in order to target certain voters who presumably would vote “yes” on the proposition. He also states that they did not fully inform the stakeholders before the vote.
There was a very low turnout of less than 10 percent of the eligible voters and the referendum passed by just 45 votes.
In support of his appeal, Vera has obtained affidavits from 70 residents who stated that they would have voted “no” if they had been able to, which would have effectively invalidated the referendum. Vera points out in his appeal that the five-year spending plan was not made available to the residents so they could find out what their money would be used for and make an educated decision on the referendum.
Vera also stated that those residents who showed up the night of the vote faced a chaotic situation because the district had scheduled two major events during the vote and there were no parking spaces to be found.
Vera is manager of operation for the New York City School Construction Authority and a member of the Putnam Valley Central School District’s Citizens' Advisory Committee.
The district and school board have 20 days to respond to Vera’s petition.
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