The Onteora Central School District Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday night to indefinitely table a resolution that would have closed Woodstock Elementary School at the end of the 2027-2028 school year, after more than an hour of heated public comment and repeated disruptions from the crowd.
The decision marked another hurdle in the district’s broader plan to consolidate students onto its Boiceville campus by 2028. In May, voters rejected a $70 million capital proposal that included expanding Bennett Elementary School and upgrading facilities. District officials have cited declining enrollment, shifts in state education aid, and financial pressures as reasons to move toward a single, centralized campus. The 300-square-mile district, whose enrollment has dropped by more than half since 2004, serves residents across Shandaken, Olive, Woodstock, West Hurley and parts of Marbletown and Lexington.Supporters argue consolidation would give students more equitable access to resources, while critics say it would diminish Woodstock’s role as a community hub and force longer commutes for families.
The resolution introduced Tuesday was seen by some trustees as a way to clarify the district’s intentions ahead of a possible revised capital referendum later this year. Board members have since discussed scaled-down alternatives ranging from $16 million to $45 million.
Chants of “table the vote” and “don’t do it” interrupted the meeting, forcing board president Cindy Bishop to call for order. The meeting, held at Woodstock Elementary, drew a large turnout of residents, the vast majority opposing the resolution. The agenda had originally called for the board to vote before hearing from the public, but that order was reversed.
“Unity is a nice word. This resolution is not that,” said Woodstock parent Adam Snyder.
“This vote is putting the cart before the horse. People want honesty and transparency. Putting fifth graders in high school is a mistake,” said Woodstock resident Rebecca Turmo.
Two Woodstock volunteer firefighters also raised objections. “I came here tonight with my fellow firefighters. Why are you blind-siding us?” asked Philippe Hyman. His colleague Symon Hallan added, “This resolution invalidates the May proposition. This community was never given a proper forum for a public process.”
Woodstock parent Meg Brenner, part of the Keep Woodstock Alive group, pressed the board on its planning. “Where is the data that is informing your plan?” she asked.
Several speakers urged the board to move forward with closure, saying the district had to balance the needs of students with what taxpayers can afford.
Following public comment, trustees Emily Mitchell-Marell and Clark Goodrich moved to withdraw the resolution. “We haven’t got a clue how we are going to do this. The whole thing has polarized everything, including our students. This was not a good idea,” Goodrich said.
Board trustee Jenny Jared suggested developing a clearer framework before revisiting the issue. “We should come up with an agenda for how we unpack this and move at a pace that feels like we are keeping our kids and community at the center around what we are trying to support,” she said.
Bishop argued for setting a future date to revisit the resolution, but that proposal was met with resistance. “I think we’ll know when it’s time,” Marell said. Goodrich agreed the matter should be tabled indefinitely, and the board voted to do so.
After the meeting, Keep Woodstock Alive leader Tansy Michaud said the decision reflected community concerns. “We’re glad the board pressed pause and hope this signals a more transparent and thoughtful path forward. Now is the time to thoroughly study how school closures affect enrollment and the health of our communities, especially before making irreversible decisions without a strategic plan in place.” Michaud encouraged the board to consider a smaller, phased-in bond focused on critical upgrades that voters support, like renovations to school buildings and improvements to the track and field. “These are the kinds of investments we can all get behind,” she said.
In a statement to The Overlook, the board defended the choice to meet in Woodstock, saying it provided residents with the best opportunity to share their views. The board acknowledged frustrations in the room but said most participants “spoke passionately and respected the proceedings.” It expressed regret that some audience members engaged in “frequent disruptive verbal outbursts, repeated vulgar gestures (right in front of young children) and even a degree of physical menacing.”
“The whole board also very much regrets that a former Onteora trustee made false claims into the microphone involving the Superintendent’s child,” the statement continued. “That kind of behavior has no place in a board of education meeting being held at an elementary school. It is up to all of us, board and community, to act like adults and be civil.”
That reference was to Laurie Osmond, a Woodstock resident and Democratic nominee for the Town Board in the upcoming November election. Osmond, who previously served as Onteora board president, used the meeting to criticize the board’s process as “not transparent” and alleged that Superintendent Victoria McLaren did not live in the district and had enrolled her child in private school.
In response, McLaren told The Overlook her hiring was approved in 2017 without a residency requirement, and that extensions of her contract were subsequently approved by votes of the same board. She added that her son has always attended public school.
“I also feel it was highly inappropriate for Ms. Osmond to publicly comment on my child’s education, but I don’t want to allow a false narrative to be perpetuated,” McLaren said.
The board will continue discussions of a new capital budget proposition at special meetings Oct. 7 and Oct. 14 in Boiceville. If details are finalized by the end of the month, a public referendum could take place in December.
Scott Widmeyer is co-founder of The Overlook. He can be reached at scott@theoverlooknews.com.