Residents of the Cold Spring Harbor Central School District will vote Nov. 16 on a proposition to liquidate the district’s 2020 $7,667,594 Capital Reserve Fund to pay a settlement agreement involving sex-abuse lawsuits.
If approved by voters, the reserve funds will be used toward paying settlement agreements with two former students who filed lawsuits against the district under the extended Child Victims Act enacted in August 2020.
The district said previously that it had agreed to pay one former student $8 million and the other $6 million for claims of abuse brought under the Child Victims Act against two former teachers, both of whom are dead.
The district will use $1,840,716 from the district’s Liability Reserve Fund and $4,489,284 from the district’s Unassigned Fund Balance leaving a balance of $7,670,000. The district must finance the remaining balance with bonded indebtedness. By liquidating the 2020 Capital Reserve Fund, the board of education wants to pay off the bonded indebtedness immediately and avoid long-term interest costs.
If the proposition is not approved, the district will still need to finance the
$7,670,000 to pay for both CVA settlement agreements through bonded indebtedness.
The district will need to add principal and interest payments of approximately $840,000 to the budget. This is expected to result in cuts to other areas of spending.
Additional information about the claims and settlements can be found on the district’s website, www.csh.k12.ny.us and in a brochure, in both English and Spanish, mailed to all residents.
All Cold Spring Harbor Central School District residents are invited to vote on
Nov. 16, from 6:30 a.m.-8 p.m., at the Ralph Whitney Field House at Cold Spring Harbor Jr./Sr. High School.
Cold Spring Harbor District Calls Meeting on Sex Abuse Settlement