In an attempt to build a tighter-knit community within the Town of New Castle (TNC), Lisa Katz, who became town supervisor a year ago, began placing personal messages on a digital sign located at Robert E. Bell Middle School. The intermunicipal agreement between the town and the school district, which was recorded on July 21, 2017, proposed usage of the sign to be shared for the purpose of posting information about community news; this five-year agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2022. After a contentious election in 2021, Katz wanted to weave a greater sense of harmony within the community, and to do this, she posted birthday messages sent in by parents and any other personal messages requested by residents.
However, last summer in a Town Board Meeting, school officials raised concerns about this decision, claiming the practice was inequitable and posed a safety risk. The Chappaqua Central School District (CCSD) argued that the postings posed a potential threat as they allowed the public to learn a child’s birthdate and full name. There was also the fear that children would feel left out if their birthdays weren’t announced while their friends’ names were broadcast on the billboard.
The CCSD school board cut off the power to the sign soon after the meeting, and blocked the town’s access. Subsequently, the TNC considered litigation against the school district. Supervisor Katz states that CCSD’s decision to turn off the power was made “in poor taste” and she believes “that it is ridiculous and a waste of taxpayer money.”
“I think that what’s most important is that the town and the school district work well together. I think it’s best to start off from the premise that we should work together for the benefit of the whole community,” says Deputy Town Supervisor Victoria Tipp. Tipp also stated they did not receive any complaints from the townspeople about the billboard, but “the school district did have issues with the birthday messages because they felt that these were personal messages, and that the contract provided only community related messages could be on the sign.”
On Jan, 5, 2023, the Chappaqua Board of Education wrote a letter to the members of the town board stating, “Acceptable Message Content includes: School sponsored events, Town sponsored events, Not for profit events with the Town of CCSD community, traffic or police advisories. Generally those events currently posted by the CCSD or the TNC on their public triangle signs, banners or flags. Prohibited Message Content, includes, but is not limited to, commercial messages and political messages, events outside of New Castle or the CCSD.”
Posting personal messages had never been discussed or considered by either party, as it wasn’t specified in either the accepted or prohibited categories. According to CCSD, the town made changes to this agreement by posting personal content on the board in 2022 without their consent. This personal messaging was done without warning and created a potentially unsafe and inequitable situation, according to CCSD. In response, on Aug. 1, 2022, Town Supervisor Lisa Katz posted on Facebook, “If you would like to embarrass your own child, or have any other community shout-out (birthdays, anniversaries or otherwise), please send an email to…”
In light of the letter, the town agreed to refrain from using the child’s full name, albeit the initial of the last name would still appear. Along with this change, the birthday message would be displayed for a couple days, obscuring the actual date. Katz claims that both parties wanted to avoid litigation, so they temporarily changed the agreement by only having messages shown when the school was closed. As of now, they are still looking to come to a more long-term consensus.
Jane K. Shepardson, President of the Board of Education, comments that “the Town and the CCSD are currently working on a new inter-municipal agreement to support sign usage by both parties. Until a new agreement is reached, the Town and CCSD will only post school-sponsored events, Town sponsored events, Town public notices, not-for-profit events within the Town or CCSD community, and traffic/police advisories.” Both parties expressed their goal to find an amicable solution through communication.
“The town, and the school district are going to work together to resolve the issue. Our goal is to negotiate a new agreement with the school district to make sure that we’re all on the same page regarding what can and cannot be on the electronic board. I have every reason to believe that we can come to an amicable solution on the content of messages on the electronic board,” remarks Tipp.