This is a shame, for Rye and for its children. The group that lobbied so actively to defeat this bond, and that so grossly misrepresented the situation, should be ashamed.

This is very disappointing. Like many, we moved to this community because of its school system and value of education. This vote makes us wonder if we've made the right choice. It is a loss-loss situation, for our children and our investment.

This is not disappointing at all.. Rye children are our treasure, for sure, but have more then an adequate facility. We must consider the Rye Seniors that made us a great town that are now on fixed incomes. This is a hit--to them, and it hurts--NO DOUBT.

Frankly all of us that pay high taxes that give us an unbelievable community are in full support of all of our kids getting a quality of education unmatched nationwide.

Yet, make it work with the most generous budget you have Rye, we are all struggling, so try to understand why we turned this down.

Go Garnets---

To the extent that the vote reflects the lies and misinformation spread by former Mayor Dunn and his Committee, it is a crime. To the extent that the vote reflects tax payers reacting to the forecasted tax increase of 25% over 5 years (of which the bond would have made only 2%), it was either gross ignorance or an attempt to send the BoE a message about spending growth without recognizing how much comes from Gov Cuomo and the state legislator's unfunded mandates. To the extent that the vote reflects believing that the District’s forecasted enrollment growth is leveling off, it is a vote of denial.

The kids are here. More are coming. We need the classroom space. Voting down the bond doesn’t change these facts.

Hopefully the Board will have the patience and forbearance to develop an alternative proposal that more closely aligns with classroom needs and less with building for potential 3rd floor additions and “spruce ups” of support space. But equally hopefully, the community of “Nos” will engage in the development of another bond instead of waiting until the “virtual concrete” has been poured during Board meetings in which only “we need more”; “add more facilities”; “give us blackbox theater space”; etc. are heard.

If you voted “No”, you owe it to the community to come back and propose constructive alternatives. The needs are real.

Bob, I do not know who Mayor Dunn is, and I did not receive a call or email from anyone, one way or another. Nor do I believe the NO voters did.
I simply am a taxpayer that knows a lot of seniors and individual taxpayers and we cannot continue to raise our tax base for multiple reasons.

There is a time and place to say we simply do not have the money to spare, PERIOD.

Obviously, the vote has clearly spoken.

I would ask the Board of Education to come back with a revised proposal for new science labs only; surely the "No" voters may see the wisdom of a rigorous curriculumn in this regard.

Before Ed Shine retires perhaps he and the School Board can come up with solutions more creative than spending money. Sadly, Rye's children have been on the losing side for years due to the District's and the PTO's emphasis on external things instead of cultivating real skills that support social cognition, creativity, and self reliance. If those qualities were tested in our schools, Rye would be on the bottom tier. It will be difficult to re-direct the pattern of the RCSD but well worth it for the sake of the next generation. What the Board sees as a loss thinking educators and parents see as a gain. Hard times have removed the crutch of money.

Rye's science programs are rated 38th in the country WITH THE EXISTING FACILITIES. Paying $1.6 million apiece for 12 new labs is a non-starter. Let's refurbish the existing facilities, fix the mechanicals, and continue to place our graduates in the best colleges and universities in the country!

Try again RCSB. Your NEEDS are NOT a citizen duty. And when are school taxes going down? Isn't that what your Osborn Home treasury raid was supposed to assure?

What a shock when economic reality arrives ! The school district administration will have to join other communities around the world in using some creativity in securing what is " necessary " rather than " desirable " & resist the temptation of reaching for the Communal Credit Card when funds are not easily to hand. It is the philosophy of not living within it's means which has produced the current economic global mess & it is about time that people living within the illusory Rye Bubble of unquestioning entitlement woke up.

If it is true that the RCSD has $15,000,000 in reserves why aren't our taxes coming down? Why are we still being overtaxed?

Why did the School Board allow Shine to resign/retire effective a year from now? This is absurd. I think his lame duck status had a lot to do with this bond being voted down.

For Blind Brook School Board member Jeff Diamond's take on the Rye vote, a vote that carries enormous significance for the Blind Brook District, please view his blog at:

http://freezethebudget.wordpress.com/

Not surprisingly, the citizens in this community who CAN'T vote are the ones who lost yesterday. The democracy worked, but not for the better. This wasn't a bond designed to cover extravagant needs as is suggested. Our kids needed space to accommodate the number of them that will enroll in the high school in the next several years. Our kids needed bathrooms to be fixed. These needs still exist the day after the bond vote. Look around this town. Sure times are tough. But this town could have shouldered the burden if it was within our values to take care of the younger generation. The adults chose themselves yesterday. Too bad.

In response to the comment about seniors being on 'fixed incomes', may I point out that those incomes are paid for by the rest of us through social security taxes, Medicare taxes and Medicare Part D supplements.

I too hope the Board comes back with a Plan B, particularly renovating the science labs. As a country, we are falling behind in critical areas that affect our nation's competitiveness; the economic costs associated with any further declines will be substantial.

I am tired of hearing about how it is all the"seniors" fault that this bond failed. Seniors are not the only people who voted no - some young members of the community did so as well and it was not because they wanted to deprive the children of a good education, but it was just too expensive for many Rye home owners young and old. It is clear to even many of the no voters that work needs to be done on the school, but due to the economic climate, it is necessary to refine the request down to a manageable figure and then you might be surprised at the change of votes to yes.
I must mention that I am appalled by the lack of respect and rudeness that has come out as a result of this bond request. Calling people "grey hairs", especially with disdain is beyond anything I would wish to hear from my children. Yesterday a woman I know who is in her 50s was about to enter the polling box when a young lady entering the adjacent polling box turned to the older woman and said - well, I guess we will cancel out each others votes. The older woman was so surprised by this rudeness that she changed what was going to be a yes vote to a no vote.
The people of Rye pride themselves on having such a wonderful community. Let's stop spending our time with the blaming and the rudeness and get down to work to see how we can come up with a solution that can help the children and the people of Rye. That is really what everyone wants in the end.

This is very disappointing. Young or old, who ever voted against this bond must not have been on a tour of the school. The facilities are disgraceful, with the exception of the library. The renovation is at least 15 years overdue. If the New York Times got a hold of this our home values would plummet. My children are very young, I'm lucky, I still have plenty of time for this to be accomplished. I am certain it will. The people who need these improvements, our children, aren't responsible for soaring pension costs and the other factors that make these decisions difficult. Let's all admit that it is absurd that in a community that values education as much as we do, kids can't wash their hands in the bathrooms and can't conduct 21st century labs. That in a community where the Rec department has International coaches for 3 year olds, we can't comply with basic Title 9 stuff in the High School.
It will happen people, the question is will it happen soon enough for your neighbor, your kid, your grand kids to take advantage. I've got some time.

Enough of all this back and forth. It is getting us nowhere. School bonds here have failed before. Rye did not crumble, house prices did not plummet and children still received an excellent education. What did happen was that a new bond was brought forth, public forums were held and the bond was passed. Let's take all the energy that is being used up in writing comments and laying blame and put it to work on developing a new bond suggestion. This time, let's have the public discussion before the vote. This is how work gets done.

NY Firefighter:

I'm guessing no one from the Rye Hysterical Society would even recognize your family name.

In case your wondering I voted No. Those labs were fine enough when we were there. $20,000,000? Playoffs? Playoffs..........................

Per Friends of the RSCD, the revised bond proposal will ONLY cost you 69 cents/day. That’s $5,037 over 20 years. Not bad. Great headline. But even better (and doable if the Board takes the RIGHT step) is 0 cents/day. Over 20 years, that’s still … wait for it … 0 cents! The kids get the classrooms they need. And the tax payers get a cost effective school district.
If you’re happy with the $5k option, vote YES on Tuesday. If you’re not, then speak up. Time is running out.