Patchogue-Medford voters reject $45M bond proposal for ventilation, classroom air-conditioning

Patchogue-Medford school district voters Tuesday rejected a $45 million proposition to install new ventilation and air-conditioning in classrooms.

Residents defeated the proposition, 466-560. The bond lost in three of the district's five polling locations, district clerk Dennis Logan told Newsday.

Superintendent Donna Jones was unavailable for an interview, and Logan declined to comment.

School board president Kelli Anne Jennings could not be reached for comment.

The school board met Wednesday night to certify the vote but did not plan to discuss whether to hold a revote, Logan said.

District officials and school board members had said the upgrades were needed to improve the learning environment for students.

Taxes on the average home assessed at $3,000 would have gone up by $276 annually, before state aid was taken into account, if the bond had been approved.

District officials had said part of the cost would have been funded with $5.8 million from the federal American Rescue Plan, and the district expected state aid to cover about 73% of the costs.

ARP funds must be spent by Sept. 30, 2024, a school district brochure said.

New air systems would have been installed at all of the district's 11 schools, officials said before the vote.

Among the schools that would have received upgrades were the Tremont and River elementary schools, which a district study found "are in the greatest need of replacement," the brochure said.

Correction: Donna Jones is the superintendent in the Patchogue-Medford school district. She was misidentified in an earlier version of the story.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.