Mareesa Nicosia

mnicosia@lohud.com

SPRING VALLEY – The East Ramapo school board has approved a $4.9 million sale of Hillcrest Elementary School to the property's current tenant, Congregation Avir Yakov of New Square.

The Board of Education voted 6-0 at a special meeting Thursday night to authorize the board president to execute a contract of sale for the school.

Board President Yehuda Weissmandl, Vice President Harry Grossman, and Trustees Eliyahu Solomon, Jacob Lefkowitz, Yakov Engel and Moshe Hopstein voted in favor. The board's other three members were absent.

The district sold Hillcrest to the same buyer once before. State authorities canceled that sale amid questions over its legality. The move followed the building's closure in 2010 in the face of public outcry and on the erroneous premise that public school enrollment would decline in the coming years.

Avi Vardi, the appraiser selected by the school board to handle the initial sale, is now facing felony charges. A state attorney general investigation found Vardi took a $5,000 bribe from the intended buyer, Avir Yakov, and falsified the appraisal to get the buyer a lower price. Vardi had pegged the property's value at $3.2 million while a secondary appraisal report by a Mamaroneck firm determined it was worth $5.9 million.

The district pledged to make sure everything was above board with this second attempt when it put the property on Addison Boyce Drive in New City back on the market about six months ago.

One other offer was received on the property from an educational entity, but that buyer backed out, Weissmandl said. Avir Yakov stepped up with a slightly higher offer, he said. He could not provide details on why the first bidder backed out.

"The board's objective is to sell it for the highest and best and we believe at this point that this is the highest and best," he said.

When and if the sale is completed, it means an influx of cash that officials anticipate will help stabilize the district's finances following several turbulent financial years in East Ramapo.

The district has cut hundreds of employees and many programs, such as elementary art and music, while struggling with budget deficits and soaring legal expenses.

Weissmandl said Thursday night it was premature to discuss how the revenue will be budgeted.

"It will be used in the best way possible," he said. "If the recommendation of our administration is to use these funds to put back even more programs, we'll be very excited."

The district budgeted $5 million in revenue from the anticipated sale of Colton Elementary School last school year. That $5.1 million deal is nearly complete. The past transactions involving both schools are the subject of an ongoing investigation by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office.