School Board to Vote on 'Proposition B,' $7 Million Gym Bond

After debating the merits of adding a gymnasium to a $78 million capital improvements bond proposal, the Riverhead Central School District Board of Education will vote on Tuesday to present to the public a two-part proposal, one offering an additional $7 million bond to fund gym space.

The bond vote is proposed for Tuesday, Oct. 11 from 6 a.m.  to 9 p.m.

"The way I look at it, it's a win-win situation," said Board President Ann Cotten-DeGrasse. "If sports parents are willing to support this, it means they're willing to come out and vote. And in order for 'B' to go, 'A' has to go. I certainly will not be opposed to it."

The smaller bond proposal – adding a 16,000 square-foot gymnasium and additional storage and office space at the high school – is contingent on passage of the larger bond. The $78.3 million proposal will eliminate the use of modular classrooms throughout the district, replace several outdated roofs and bring classrooms "into the 21st century" according to the project's architects.

October's vote will come over a year and a half after taxpayers voted down a $122.9 million capital improvements bond by nearly a two-to-one margin.

Despite the creation of a committee designed to present a bond to the board, three board members felt the committee's suggestion was lacking in athletic upgrades. Board Member , and peers Greg Meyer and Jeff Falisi have expressed similar notions as well.

"I'm extremely grateful for the time the committee and administrators put in," Meyer said on Friday. "The idea, though, is to be a proposal ... We have to take a look at it and make sure it covers as much as it can and is good for everything."

Meyer, the board vice president, had – which he said could be referred to as a "multi-use facility" as it could be used for uses beyond sports – at the board's June 7 meeting. There, architects from Patchogue-based BBS, knowing very little about what he had in mind, pitched a $4.5 million price tag for a gym with 200 bleacher seats and high school athletic space.

Meyer said he, Falisi and administrators later met with the architects, hearing some gym proposals upwards of $20 million. What is being proposed, said Meyer, is a collegiate-sized gym to provide more space. 

The $78.3 million proposal includes no new gym space for athletes, though a weight room is included.

"The problem at the high school is you can't hold two events at the same time," Meyer said. "How awesome would it be for a night of entertainment to hear the chamber choir sing, see the ROTC do some rifle drills and then go watch a girls' basketball game?

"This is one piece of the puzzle we felt some people wanted the option to do," he added. "That's why we did proposition 'B.' If people vote it down, they vote it down. I can say I gave it my best to try and make upgrades clear across the board."