Proponents of keeping Woodstock Elementary School open will make their case once more on Sept. 30, when the Onteora Central School District Board of Education meets at the Woodstock Elementary School at 6 p.m. The board is expected to vote that night on a resolution to formally close the school.
Leaders of the community group Keep Woodstock Alive (KWA) say the move defies the will of voters, who in May rejected a $70 million capital spending plan to consolidate schools on the Boiceville campus. That plan was defeated 1,398 to 1,164. The group argues that closing Woodstock Elementary ignores community opposition, financial risks, and the school’s central role in town life.
“Instead of responding with solutions, the public is being ignored,” added Ed McGeady, who has two children at the school. Another parent, Meg Brenner, said bluntly: “The school board has blindsided the community.”…