Hotly Debated Ossining Bond Referendum Voting Continues

There is a steady stream of residents going into to vote on the bond referendum. If everything goes as planned, tonight voters should know if the $41.5 million borrowing plan passed.

Voting will continue until 9 p.m. Officials expect to have the votes tabulated by 10 p.m. Ossining School District Clerk Vanessa Celio says that the process of voting is simple.

"If they're already registered to vote then they're already in our county books… They're signing their names, and then they get one ticket. Then they take their ticket up to the machines, just push yes or no, and then they're done," said Celio.

The bond proposal has been hotly debated among members of the community.

Many people we spoke to said that their opinion on the bond proposal was different from their next-door neighbors' take on the issue.

Village of Ossining couple Kirk and Micheleine Kasarian told Patch why they were voting against the bond proposal.

"We have been living in Ossining for 42 years. We have voted every time. We are voting it down because we have been paying taxes at very high levels," said Micheleine.

"There comes a time when they have to think more in the administration, to figure out ways to save money budget-wise, rather than keep adding higher taxes… I think it's a question of fairness to many of the people who have been here for years. We're on a fixed income, so therefore it's very important to us," said Micheleine's husband Kirk.

After speaking with the Kasarians, Patch spoke with Town of Ossining resident Mark Seiden who voted in favor of the bond proposal.

"I think that this is a very important issue. We want to keep our schools working well. I think, based that there's old debt coming off, and this debt would come on, and there would not be any change in taxes is very important. I'm also concerned about how much New York state aid may be coming in the future… I just think this bond is very necessary to keep the schools going," said Seiden.

Village of Ossining resident Kim flood said that property values were a factor in her decision.

"I don't want my property value to go down because we're letting our schools fall apart," said Flood.

Even though Ossining resident Brian Battuello is supporting the bond, he said that he understands why people might be opposed to it.

"I understand the concern about taxes—taxes are high—my taxes are high, but we have to maintain these buildings. It's been a long time since there's been a bond here," said the unincorporated town resident.

As the votes stream in, the Ossining Union Free School District has been getting the word out about their proposal, while the organization FreeOssiningTaxpayers.com has been spearheading the effort to oppose a bond issue. Taking the other side of the issue is Ossining Citizens for Schools.

Patch has created a special topic page, which contains all of the articles, blogs and letters to the editor concerning the bond proposal. The topic page can also be found under our news tab.

Below are the links for the organizations that are opposed to and for the bond, as well as a link to OUFSD's bond proposal page.

To view FreeOssiningTaxpayers.com's website click here.

To view the Ossining School District's bond proposal site click on this link.

To view Ossining Citizens for Schools site click here.

HOW WILL YOU BE VOTING ON THE BOND ISSUE TODAY? TELL US WHY YOU ARE OPPOSED OR IN FAVOR OF IT BY CLICKING ON THE "COMMENT" BUTTON.