Bronxville School PTA Donates $875,000 For Auditorium

BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – In support of the Bronxville School's auditorium renovation project, the school's Parent Teacher Association gave its single largest donation since its inception in 1953.

John Kehoe, assistant superintendent of the Bronxville school district, stands in the Bronxville School's auditorium, which is to be renovated. The entire balcony behind him has been closed for the past year because of safety concerns.
Photo Credit: *Tanuja Kanwar*

by Paul Bufano

02/28/2013 12:01 a.m.

The Bronxville Board of Education voted to accept an $875,000 donation from the PTA that will help renovate the school's auditorium. The money will also go to upgrade the Middle School science labs.

The donation is part of the public-private partnership that the school board established as a way to achieve long-range goals in difficult financial times.

The board realized that if renovations needed to be made, they weren't going to be possible without help, given the school district's financial situation, said Bronxville Schools Superintendent David Quattrone.

"It's a very generous gift and it reflects the support our community has for a quality education," Quattrone said. "The fundraising efforts of the PTA will in part allow the school to restore its facilities to something that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. The auditorium as it stands is now very old and ordinary, and with this additional money it will soon be something special."

The donation is the latest in the effort to raise $10 million, partly to renovate the school's auditorium, estimated at $7 million. In April 2012, the school board accepted an $850,000 grant from the Bronxville School Foundation. In October, Bronxville residents approved a $4.5 million bond issue. And finally in December, the school board accepted a $1.95 million donation from the foundation's Final Act project.

Donations like this show just how involved Bronxville residents and parents are when it comes to education, said Bronxville High School Principal Terry Barton.

"I think the donation is very significant because it's going to transform our facilities, and elevate them to a new level," Barton said. "The auditorium is something that the entire school uses, so it's going to have a very big impact. One of the things I love most about the school is its focus on its artistic programs, mainly being its musicals. The students always do an amazing job, and now they can continue to do so in a professional way."

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