Graduates in 2023 will have three choices
The eighth-grade graduates at the Garrison School will have three choices for high school in the fall of 2023: Haldane in Cold Spring, O’Neill in Highland Falls or Putnam Valley.
At its meeting on Wednesday (Oct. 26), the Garrison school board approved adding Putnam Valley in what board member Kent Schacht called “a foundational change for our school.”
Garrison educates students through the eighth grade, after which it pays tuition for those who attend a public high school. The board recently reached a one-year agreement to pay Putnam Valley $16,500 per student, said Superintendent Carl Albano. The board could put a referendum on the May ballot to allow the districts to agree to longer-term deals.
After voters this year approved a proposal that allows Garrison to make a longer-term deal with O’Neill, the districts agreed on a price of $16,500 per student that can increase by 2 percent per year or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. Haldane, which would like to increase the amount it charges Garrison to the maximum allowed under a state formula, agreed to accept $16,500 per student for the Class of 2023 so the districts can continue negotiations.
