11/05/2021
The following letter has been sent to the President of the Board of Education for Port Chester. Please read !
Chrissie:
In response to a FOIL request initiated by the Republican Party for the Village of Port Chester, information has been provided that new enrollment in the Port Chester School District for the months of July, August, September and October is 225 students. The information provided broke this down by school as follows:
Edison School 11
Park Avenue 28
King Street 20
JFK 15
Middle School 48
High School 103
We have several questions that need to be immediately answered. If you are unable to provide answers, I am requesting that you set up an immediate meeting with the Superintendent and/or the entire School Board to discuss the questions contained herein.
Does the new enrollment of 225 students represent a net positive change or was there a corresponding loss of students during this same period?
Is there any historical data to evaluate the above numbers against prior years to determine if this is an expected trend or an abnormal aberration?
Do the above FOILED numbers paint an accurate picture or are numbers needed for an entire year? How are new enrollees tracked?
We know that the cost to educate a student in the Port Chester School District is approximately $18,000 meaning that the new enrollments disclosed translates to a roughly $4,050,000 annual cost.
As seen by a recent story in the New York Post unaccompanied minors have been getting reunited for many months. We know that reports of children from southern border crossings being reunited with families in Port Chester have been made.
Since January 1, 2021, how many unaccompanied minors have now been enrolled in the Port Chester School District and when was the first new enrollment? Of the 225 new enrollees, do we know the number of new enrollees that are reunited family members?
We know that according to the Multiple Listing Service there were a total of 36 homes that sold in District 4 during this same period. New enrollments likely did not come from recent home sales.
We do not believe that the surge in enrollment is related to new construction in the Village of Port Chester or Rye Brook. Do we know anything about the housing locations or conditions of the new enrollees? Is there a count of Port Chester versus Rye Brook residents?
We know remnants of Hurricane Ida inflicted a devastating impact on the housing stock in the Villages of Port Chester and Rye Brook. What is the current number of homeless children attending the Port Chester School District?
What health precautions are required of new enrollees, such as proof of vaccinations or COVID 19 testing? Are TB tests required for new enrollees coming from other countries? Who verifies this information? Is the Westchester County Board of Health providing assistance on this transition process?
Of the new enrollees, do we know the number of students that have been referred to the Committee on Special Education for determination on their eligibility to receive related services?
To the extent that there is a large number of students entering the middle school and high school, have the local Police Departments been made aware in influx of new enrollees to enhance community policing ties to ensure that no gang members are part of the current new enrollees?
We know that there are costs to educate students whose primary language in not English. Of the new enrollees, how many require ESL assistance?
Is the Federal Government providing the District with any supplemental funding to cover some of the education costs being incurred? How is this funding occurring?
Is the State of New York Education Department aware of the effects this school population swell is having on the district?
Recently our school system adopted an $80 million bond, with one of its purposes to increase capacity. How do these new enrollments, now and as they progress through the system, affect the total capacity of the school system?
What steps is the district taking to communicate any of the above answers to the parents of school children, or to the Village residents and taxpayers at large or other government officials that may have available resources to assist?
Port Chester has a proud tradition of embracing and welcoming new residents to this country. It has always sought to be a model of acceptance and fostering cultural diversity. However, its taxpayers are already burdened with high school taxes. The unexpected and unplanned population influx without proper corresponding funding can have a negative impact and long term effects upon the school system. Have these impacts been studied?
It’s both reasonable and responsible for all parents to insist that the school system explain what is happening in a transparent manner. What is the plan to communicate with the school parents and the taxpayer community at large? What are the expected impacts? What will be the effect upon school taxes?
While the District 4 taxpayers are still reeling from the $80 million bond what options are there now (temporary or permanent) to accommodate an increasing school population whether from reunited families or as the Village of Port Chester’s planned development projects come on line? While it would be nice for Federal and NYS entities to build more schools for Port Chester, it’s unlikely the entities responsible for this situation will provide proper funding to the communities that are now dealing with the effects.
Should the School District call for an emergency summit of government leaders on all levels to develop a unified cohesive response plan to the current situation?
I lok forward to hearing from you or the district after review of the questions herein.
Very truly yours,
Aldo V. Vitagliano,
Chairman, Port Chester Republican Committee
27 Elizabeth Street
Port Chester, Y 10573
cell # (914) 714-2693
office # (914) 921-0333
