Taking the long view of Bedford's needs

What will the Bedford School District need in terms of facilities, capital improvements and technology over the next few years? A citizens' group, appointed by the Board, is looking into that question; they're studying demographer's reports, touring schools, and seeking input from staff and community residents. The committee expects to make its draft master plan recommendation to the Board in June.

The Citizens Facilities Advisory Committee is chaired by P. Daniel Hollis III of Shamberg, Marwell, Hocherman, Davis & Hollis of Mount Kisco, with Chris Burdick, an attorney from Bedford as vice chair. The 12member committee includes parents, an architect, communications experts, and community residents from every geographical area in the district.

After studying the demographic report, "we are satisfied that the report is accurate about the potential for continued growth in the district," Mr. Hollis said. "This translates into a 17 year growth program, from live birth patterns (children already born in the district) and cohort survival rate (how many start kindergarten and stay in the district). Bedford definitely needs more room for its students."

The committee is evaluating capital improvement requests by each school site based committee; visiting each school to inspect, room by room, existing facilities; and conducting forums in each school to gather input from community residents, and reviewing the district's long-range technology plan to determine if aspects of it ought to be considered as we address our future facilities needs.

Mr. Hollis and Mr. Burdick also participated in the screening and hiring of the planner/architect, Peter Gisolfi Associates, and project manager/construction manager, J. Michael Orifici & Associates.

"We don't get to do long range planning often," Assistant Superintendent for Business Mark Betz says. WE ALL KNOW THAT, MARK -JPG "This is a legitimate full-fledged effort to plan for the future needs of the Bedford Central School District. It's better to plan for the future rather than just reacting to crises. This is a very exciting time in Bedford."

Mr. Hollis invites residents to attend the upcoming forums (April 11 at Middle School; April 25 at Bedford Village; April 30 at West Patent), write to him c/o of the district, or call him at home,

"There's no question that the district needs more space," Mr. Hollis says. "Though it is unclear what the recommendations of the committee will be at this time, it is clear they will be reasonable and moderate in terms of scope and expense."