The North Shore School District is seeking to pass a $19.6 million dollar bond issue for the purposes of infrastructure improvements to the school facilities. After extensive evaluation of the proposed improvements which included review of hundreds of pages of documents, investigations, questioning of school officials and engineers, and site visits, the SCPOC contends that many of the improvements and renovations are unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer funds. SCPOC further contends that the district is using illegal tactics to railroad the bonds passage at the ballot box. Furthermore, the district hired construction consultants that are paid to advise the district on the nature and method of renovation. The consultants are paid in proportion to the amount of expenditure of the projects (known as “SOFT COSTS”,) hence they may have a vested interest in inflating the renovation costs. The school tax issues are being made more compelling due to the LIPA-Glenwood Power Plant shutdown that will increase school taxes by 19%.

The SCPOC alleges that the school district printed and circulated “marketing advertisements” or “flyers” that are designed to sway the electorate to cast their ballots in support of a particular position advocated by the Board of Education. The advertisements also contained misleading statements, and wording designed to deceive voters with a false sense of urgency. The advertisements advocate a partisan position of the School District in advocating a YES vote for the Bond Referendum on December 3, 2013;, and secondly, the printing and distribution of these advertising flyers violates the constitutional prohibition against using public (tax payer) funds to advance and promote a partisan position. The prohibition against school districts engaging in this behavior is enshrined in both the N.Y.S. Constitution and legal decisions rendered by the N.Y.S. Court of Appeals.

The SCPOC seeks to bar the school district from further distribution of the illegal flyers to the electorate, and cancellation of the scheduled Bond Vote on December 3, or until the matter can be adjudicated.

Why SCPOC opposes the Bond

As previously mentioned, after extensive review, the SCPOC has concluded that the $19.6 Million dollar bond being requested by the NSSD is unneeded and a waste of taxpayer funds. Many of the proposed renovations can be done in a less costly manner, or deferred for many years. Just to provide one example, the roof on the Sea Cliff School is only 13 years old and the district is seeking an astounding $741,000 to replace it. The roof has a lifespan of at least 10 more years! The engineering consultant’s own report give the roof a “satisfactory” rating. It is clear to us that these renovations will only benefit the contractors and consultants that are looking for lucrative school contracts, not the students.

Next Steps

SCPOC will keep you informed of the legal status on this case. The outcome of any litigation is not guaranteed but we will try our best to faithfully advocate for you, the taxpayer. This is the first step SCPOC is taking to stop the passage and implementation of this bond. Our goal is to send this bond issue back to the Board of Education for further review and paring down of costs. We will also be sending out further emails to give you more detailed information about the renovations, the bond, and further developments as they arise.

Important

If you think that SCPOC is doing a good job by fighting for you, the taxpayer, please consider a donation to SCPOC. While our attorney is giving us a very favorable rate to represent us and he is sympathetic to our plight, these legal challenges are still very costly. Consider your donation in the context of the thousands of dollars you pay for school taxes- TAXES YOU MUST PAY EVEN IF YOU HAVE NO KIDS IN SCHOOL. TAXES YOU MUST PAY EVEN THOUGH YOUR INCOME DID NOT INCREASE.

How much are your school taxes this year? $6000? $8000? 10,000? What will your taxes increase to next year, and the year after that? $7700? $10,200? $12,800?  SCPOC is the only group actively fighting those increases. Give us a few dollars to avoid paying the tax collector thousands. Please consider a $100 donation.