First of 11 Bond Committee Meetings Draws Over 50 Residents

Over 50 Riverhead residents gathered in the high school cafeteria on Thursday evening for the first of 11 meetings aimed at defining what the school district needs in order to successfully appeal to the public to support another bond referendum for school upgrades.

Thursday's first open-door meeting of the Bond Referendum Committee marked the first step of a process that school officials are hoping will result in a change of heart.

"I think that was one of our problems last year," said the President of the Board of Education, Ann Cotten-DeGrasse. "We went to the PTO's, but we never got community input like this. I'd like to talk to the business owners, to the retirees."

In February, Riverhead residents voted down a bond referendum seeking $122.9 million. The referendum failed by a margin of 62 to 38 percent, with approximately 3,650 citizens voting on the issue.

"The more people we have, the better chance we have of hitting all the segments of the town," DeGrasse said. "Because one person can tell 10 people, who can tell 10 more. And that's how a lot of people find out."

After an introduction from Superintendent Nancy Carney and an open comment period, attendees formed three groups: Buildings and Grounds (infrastructure), Schools (classroom/grade configuration), and Public Information. In addition to specifying, prioritizing, and finally coming up with a number for the public to accept, another major priority of the Bond Committee will be to inform the public of how that number will come to be. Several members of the public mentioned public education as a key ingredient in getting more people to understand why school officials are asking Riverhead residents to vote again.

"The last thing I needed (when I came to vote on February's referendum), was to be paying another 'X' in my taxes," said Pamela Hogrefe, a Riverhead resident since 1999 with no children in the school system. "If you want the community to get behind it, you have to seek them out. The only reason I voted for last year's proposal was because I walked through this school en route to place my ballot."

The next seven meetings of the Bond Committee will consist of walk-throughs of the district's buildings, allowing the public to see firsthand what needs repair.

In the open comments period, the public offered several points:

• The district should consider hiring a grant writer.
• Offer one referendum for what the district needs, followed by other referenda seeking the district's wants.
• Reduce salaries.
• Redistrict the Riverhead Central School District.
• People must rally behind the bond referendum.

Carney offered statistics that may point to the district's need to rally behind its own cause for the bond referendum to pass. According to the Superintendent:

• 66 percent of parents with children in the school district did not vote.
• 40 percent of school staff did not vote.

The next Bond Referendum Committee will meet on Wednesday, Oct. 13, and tour the high school and STAR Academy.