Voters say yes to school Capital Reserve Fund

Warwick — After three “no” budget votes in two years, Warwick Valley School District voters said yes, this time to creating a Capital Reserve Fund of about $3.5 million which gives them control over the spending of it. “I’m very happy about it,” said Dr. Frank Greenhall, superintendent of Warwick schools, after the vote. “It is a positive step after three budget defeats. It’s good to have a win.” Greenhall proposed creating the fund, which is formally called the “District-wide Renovations, Reconstruction and Health and Safety Reserve Fund.” Money in this fund would only be spent on capital projects with the approval of the voters. It will be funded by money already in an existing fund that was controlled by the school board. Greenhall stressed that this would not result in new taxes. The fund will exist for five years. “The public is saying they want more input,” he said. Greenhall compared the fund to a savings account that a homeowner might have to pay for maintenance and repairs. Just over 1,100 voters came out for this vote, which was held a month after the budget vote. The margin of victory was 159 votes, with 632 saying yes and 473 voting no. It would have been better, according to Greenhall, to combine the two votes, but because there has to be a 45-day notification to the public, there was not enough time to get this measure on the ballot. “I think it would have been confusing if people had not voted yes,” the superintendent said. Meanwhile, Greenhall said he acted in response to what he has been hearing since taking the job here in Warwick in February. “Here is something giving people control over this money and that’s what I’ve been hearing — people want more say in things. This is step one,” he said. “And I’ll accept that.”