Pine Plains school board votes to close Cold Spring

PINE PLAINS — The Pine Plains Board of Education voted unanimously Oct. 6 to close Cold Spring Early Learning Center in Stanford, ending a debate that has lasted for more than two years.

Beginning in the 2027-28 school year, roughly 150 students in pre-K through first grade at Cold Spring will move to Seymour Smith Intermediate Learning Center in Pine Plains. “This decision was not made lightly or precipitously,” Superintendent Dr. Brian Timm said in a statement. “We will continue to provide frequent updates as we move through the transition process. Our priority remains what is in the best interest of our students.”

On Oct. 6, Superintendent Brian Timm presented two sets of estimated savings that would result from closing Cold Spring. Cutting positions such as paraprofessionals, teacher aides, custodial workers, and food service workers would save $682,336, including $200,000 in transportation costs. Eliminating typist and classroom teacher positions would increase the savings to $1,135,265.

The vote followed an educational impact statement from the district’s Building Utilization Advisory Committee, delivered in September. The EIS recommended building consolidation, citing declining enrollment, uncertain state funding, and cost increases in a number of departments. Districtwide, K-12 enrollment has fallen from a peak of nearly 1,500 students in 2002 to just under 800 today.

The Board of Education formed the committee in February after parents pressed for more details about the plan and a thorough understanding of each building’s capabilities. Committee members met regularly for seven months, toured the district’s buildings, and weighed three options: close Cold Spring, close Seymour Smith, or keep both open. After seven months of deliberations, the committee drafted and submitted the EIS with approval from 17 of the 20 members.

Three dissenting members of the Building Utilization Advisory Committee claimed that the school board’s framing of the school’s closure was overly optimistic from a financial standpoint. They also claimed the repairs necessary to Seymour Smith to accommodate the new students — between $290,000 and $330,000 in infrastructure upgrades — would cut into the potential savings.

Despite these concerns, however, the Board of Education’s vote to close the early education center was unanimous. The board first considered closing Cold Spring in 2024, amid warnings that the district could lose as much as $4 million in state aid. That money was preserved, which shelved a vote, but rising health insurance costs and other fixed expenses kept the pressure on. Parents, educators and town officials voiced fervent opposition at a public hearing in January, and insisted on the creation of what became the BUAC. Their concerns included longer bus times for young students, the loss of Stanford’s only public school building, and a lack of modern facilities at Seymour Smith Intermediate Learning Center.

In May, Pine Plains voters rejected a budget that included a 5.34% tax increase above the state cap. A subsequent budget that was under the state cap passed.