Health & Fitness
The Fate of St Ann's School
In a matter of weeks, Ossining will lose St Ann's to Archdiocese cutbacks. But the loss doesn't mean that Ossining Schools can't make a serious, money-saving gain.
After 46 graduating classes and perhaps 1,100 8th grade diplomas bestowed, St Ann's School in Ossining will join Mary Immaculate and Holy Name of Mary as area parochial schools that have closed their doors. I graduated in 1981, and my oldest brother was in the first graduating class in 1965. I have watched as other closure scares came and went, and I observed with pride when Principal Dorothea Muccigrosso spearheaded the building of a new library wing. Sadly, the school couldn't weather the latest storm. But that might not be all bad for the community.
I reside in the Ossining School District, which recently had the $69 million bond referendum voted down. One of the larger lynch pins of the bond issue was the need for more classrooms. I hope that the district will seriously consider how St Ann's could help with the growing student population forecast over the next decade. While some renovations and expansion might be needed, the price tag for getting the building to fit the district's needs would be a fraction of the $69 million the voters rejected.
I had a correspondence with Ray Sanchez of the Ossining School District and he told me that this past year the district had in fact walked through the facility to determine if it might be a viable alternative. According to Mr Sanchez, it would exceed $1 million to bring the building into compliance.
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He cited:
ADA accessibly and building and fire code upgrades for the District to take occupancy. The State Education Dept. requires that all new or newly acquired buildings that are intended to be occupied by a school district are fully compliant with all current NYS building, fire, and accessibility codes as a condition of granting an occupancy certificate.
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His other concern cited was that the facility would only be big enough to house one grade, which was also the issue with Roosevelt school.
I am a business owner and I do understand the need to consider the fiscal ramifications of any move by the District. To my sensibilities, St Ann's, with a four-acre schoolyard in a quiet neighborhood, for $1 million or $5 million, for that matter, is a bargain compared to the $69 million that would still leave the community with the same number of schools. I say buy the building from the parish, do whatever work you need for compliance, and everyone wins.
