WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. June 13, 2005, UPDATED 9:36 A.M. E.D.T. June 14, 2005: The Board of Education voted last night to accept their legal counsel recommendation of acceptance of a certriorari settlement the city has made with Bloomingdale's on Bloomingdale Road in White Plains. The Board approved a $1,701,524 tax refund for Bloomies, in addition to a $114,870 cert to CVS and a $1,724 cert to Parsons LLC, bringing the latest certriorari hit total to $1,818,119.85.

The $1.7 Million giveback to Bloomies by the School District, translates by WPCNR's estimate to approximately a $422,000 payback in addition by the City of White Plains from its tax roll. The tax years for which the refund was accumulated were from 1999 to 2004 according to the School District Business Office Tuesday morning. The Bloomies cert reduces their assessment permanently by $1.7 Million for at least two years.

$7,326,090.28 In Refunds in First 6 months of 2005

According the School District Business Office, the total tax givebacks by the school district the first six months of 2005 approved by the Board of Education this year total $7,326,090.28. According to Jackie Mackin of the Business office the district is working with the courts to see whether or not this sum has to be paid by June 30. The district has so far paid $3,426,420 of the $7,326,090.28 the Board as approved in settlements to Westchester One, Gateway, and Nordstroms, the biggest winners in the certriorari casino. The District is attempting to negotiate without interest a delay of the remaining $3,799,670 in refunds still due past June 30.

The 7.3 Million in refunds is permanently lost from the school district assessment role, for the next two years.  The latest Bloomies certriorari still leaves the district assessible roll at a value of $304 Million, not $302 Million as previously reported. (The Bloomingdale's certriorari, the business office reports, was included in the $304 Million assessibles figure given in the 05-06 School District Budget.)

Ms. Mackin grimly reported the district expected to have to approve  two more large certriorari settlements in the next two months.

As is their custom, the Board of Education, when voting to approve the Bloomingdale's certriorari settlement on the televised portion of last night's meeting, the Board discreetly did not announce the amount of the certriorari, the business receiving it, or the effect on the district.