Pocono News Section

Taxpayers Prepare School Board Protest

Taxpayers Prepare School Board Protest - Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 4:58PM EST

Reported by: Laurie Monteforte
Tuesday, Apr 15, 2008 @ 04:58pm EST
STROUDSBURG, MONROE COUNTY - Taxpayers in one part of the Poconos are prepared to fight a school board tomorrow night. They say the Stroudsburg Area School District want to spend too much money to build a new high school.

At first it's fun to make ribbons. After the first hundred or so your hands start to hurt. But that did not slow down Lucy Cohowicz and Barbara Magnano. The women are on a mission to stop a school board.

"It's the money. It's the money. It's the money," said Cohowicz. The Stroudsburg Area School District board has to decide whether to renovate the current high school or build a new one.

Barbara and Lucy support the renovation plan and about 800 people who agree with them signed a petition to the board. They say it would cost about $20 million less to renovate than to build. Plus the district already pent millions to prepare for renovation. "I don't want to see over $3 million just tossed away to start fresh," said Barbara.

The activists are so concerned about what the school board might do, they took their fight to court. On Monday they filed an injunction to stop the vote. They want a judge to stop the school board vote and leave the decision up to district residents in a referendum.

Lucy said, "Let the community know about it. Be informed. And whatever they do in the ballot box, we'll agree with." Both women want others who agree with them to wear yellow to the meeting as a sign of solidarity.

They've made shirts for themselves and hundreds of ribbons for anyone who wants to join them. The school board meeting is Wednesday at 7 p. m. in the high school cafeteria.

You can read arguments from both sides of the renovate or build controversy at