Ossining School District Announces Upcoming Bond Vote

Dear Ossining Community,

We hope this message finds you well and enjoying the summer months. As your Board of Education, our primary goal is to ensure that our students receive their education in an environment that is safe and conducive to learning. In pursuit of this goal, we would like to inform you about an upcoming Bond Vote that will take place on September 24, 2024.
This Bond Vote is important for several facilities projects that will impact the educational experience for our students. The projects include:

1. A New Building for 7th and 8th Grades: This new building will provide our middle school students with a well-equipped environment to support their academic and developmental needs. This will also allow the AMD Middle School to accommodate the 5th grade students from Roosevelt School and the current 6th grade while eliminating the overcrowded condition that currently exists.
2. Six New Classrooms at Claremont School & New Kitchen Servery: We will be constructing a new cafeteria servery and kitchen, which will improve our meal services and ensure that all students have access to nutritious meals in a timely manner. Additionally, six new classrooms will be added to Claremont School. Four of the new classrooms are necessary to expand the cafeteria, kitchen and servery.
3. Renovation of the Old Church Adjacent to Our High School: This historic building will be transformed into a STEM and Arts Center. Additionally, a three-story building will be constructed in the area of the existing rectory. The building will provide our high school students with facilities for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, as well as space for student commons and circulation with internal connections to the main building.
4. Renovated & New Classrooms at OHS: We will have approximately 19 new and renovated classrooms at OHS including a newly constructed music wing, a student commons for additional lunch and student space, and a new fitness center.

This is a $210 million plan that has been structured to be tax levy neutral. Approval of this proposal will result in a 0% increase in the tax levy which is possible through the combination of overall state aid, district budgeting practices over the years, conversion of an existing capital line into a debt service line, and a construction plan that maximizes aid returned to the district.

We understand that you may have questions and we are committed to providing you with all the information you need. To this end, we will be hosting several Board of Education meetings and will be distributing a newsletter, video and more over the next few weeks. We are also continuously updating our Facilities Website with presentations, videos and more. We encourage you to attend these sessions, ask questions, and provide your input. The Board can also be reached at boe@ossiningufsd.org for any questions you may have or to schedule a meeting to learn more. We hope you all enjoy the remaining days of summer.
Sincerely,

Ossining Board of Education