School bond goes down

By a margin of 59 to 41 percent, residents of the Rockville Centre Union Free School District defeated a proposed $31.8 million bond in a Dec. 17 vote. The measure would have financed renovations to South Side High School.

According to unofficial results, with all ballots counted moments after polls in the high school gym closed, there were 1,021 votes in favor of the bond and 1,465 against it. There were 14 “yes” votes and 63 “no’s” among 77 absentee ballots. Twelve affidavit ballots were evenly split, six for and six against.

“I’m thankful for the help of the Board of Education and a very diligent campaign of awareness built by many dedicated individuals,” said John Randazzo, a member of the Rockville Centre Tea Party and a group called Residents for Responsible Spending that campaigned against the bond. The group had distributed leaflets on cars parked near St. Agnes Cathedral and the Long Island Rail Road station. Members also tacked up posters urging residents to vote “no” at the station and in stores throughout the village, and handed out fliers to commuters on the days before the vote.

There was also an aggressive telephone campaign against the bond the night before the special election, but it is not known who

organized it.

“The residents have voiced their will and the voting process reflects the will of the people,” Randazzo said. “We’re quite pleased with the outcome.”

School officials, including South Side High School Principal Dr. Carol Burris, expressed their dismay. “I think I speak for the entire faculty when I say we’re terribly disappointed,” Burris said. “We strongly believe that our students deserve improved facilities. Unfortunately, the problems are not going to go away.”

“What I think is lost in this...,” said school Superintendent Dr. William Johnson, “[is that] so many of the issues focused on things other than that these are our children and the spaces in which they’re going to be educated. It’s a sad day for the kids of Rockville Centre.”

“We are certainly disappointed with the results from the election,” said school board President Mark Masin. “At this point we'll be sitting down to re-evaluate what our course of action will be. I want to thank all those who put in tremendous efforts toward passage of this bond issue, and this vote unfortunately still does not correct many of the deficiencies that we have on our high school campus.”

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