Cold Spring Harbor Residents Vote To Liquidate $7.6M

COLD SPRING HARBOR, NY — Cold Spring Harbor residents on Thursday voted to liquidate $7.6 million in the 2020 Capital Reserve for use toward lawsuit settlements, the school district announced.

The final voting results were 241 yes votes and 27 no votes.

"The Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools Jill M. Gierasch would like to thank all community residents who participated in this vote and the community for their continued support," the school district wrote.

The reserve funds will be used toward paying legally required settlement agreements with two former students from more than 40 years ago who filed lawsuits against the district under the extended Child Victims Act enacted in August 2020.

The first claim was made in January 2021, while two more were made in March 2021. The plaintiffs from each case accused three different teachers — who have all since died — of abuse over 40 years ago. The district reached settlement dates earlier this year.

The first case was settled for $300K and paid, according to the district.

To finance these two settlement agreements, the district will use $1,840,716 from its Liability Reserve Fund and $4,489,284 from the district’s Unassigned Fund Balance, leaving a balance of $7,670,000.

The second case settled for $8 million — the second and final payment of $6.5 million is due in June 2024. The third case settled for $6 million — the second and final payment of $3 million is due in June 2024.

Confidentiality and non-disparagement agreements prevent the district from sharing further information.

The district must finance this remaining balance with bonded indebtedness, it wrote.

If the proposition was not approved by voters, the district would have had to finance the $7,670,000 to pay for both CVA settlement agreements through bonded indebtedness. That would have likely resulted in budget cuts, possibly impacting student programs, according to the district.