Tuesday, October 16, 2001
By RICHARD COWEN
Staff Writer
CLOSTER -- Hopes that the Village School would be reopened to ease crowding have dimmed somewhat following a vote by a citizens advisory committee last week.
The 18-member Closter Facilities Investigation Committee spent much of the summer exploring solutions to the problem of crowding in the borough's public schools. By the time of Thursday night's meeting, two options were left: either repurchase and renovate the 102-year-old Village School, or ask voters for the third time in two years to fund additions at Tenakill and Hillside schools.
But rather than state a clear preference, the committee split down the middle, with nine votes cast for the Village School option and nine votes for additions. About the only clear signal sent by the vote is that the political stalemate of the past two years shows no signs of abating.
"Consensus? That's not where we're at," said Pat Garbe-Morillo, a committee member and historic preservationist who favored reopening Village School. "We spent our entire summer working on this. The only thing I regret is that I missed three weeks of summer vacation."
In the aftermath, even the committee's voting procedure engendered controversy. After a long night of debate, the first ballot was taken. There were 10 votes in favor of the Village School proposal and eight for building additions to Tenakill and Hillside schools. But then one member of the committee, David Garfunkle, switched his vote, dropping his support for the Village School restoration and creating a tie.
Garfunkle said he withdrew his support for reopening the Village School when he realized there were several approaches being considered -- and some included having the borough use its right of eminent domain to expand the school grounds.
"It was impossible for me to vote on one plan for Village School when in reality, several were being considered," Garfunkle said.
The committee expects to issue its report on Thursday night and then disband. Once the committee disbands, it will be up to the Board of Education to decide what to do.
Finding consensus was the goal of the committee when it was formed in the spring. Following the defeat of two ballot proposals in 18 months, the district hired a public relations consultant, the Syntax Communications Group, to facilitate discussions among residents.
A town meeting held at Hillside School in late February drew more than 100 residents. Many in the audience that night expressed dissatisfaction with the the way the Board of Education had handled the proposals, saying trustees did not present all the options to the public.
It was agreed that a citizens committee might do a better job of exploring options and restoring trust. Some members argued for a third option of building a new school at Schauble Park. But borough officials said parkland could not be made available.
Village School was closed in 1996, because the building was no longer up to code. It was subsequently sold to Kitty Fan Koo of Tenafly for $825,000. She had originally hoped to build a senior housing and a cultural center on the site, but that plan has not gone forward.
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