The Port Jervis City School District Board of Education voted to terminate a contract of sale for the Joyland property after staff said further environmental testing and an inflexible seller deadline made it necessary to exit the deal.

Board members moved to bring the item to the floor and carried the motion by voice vote. Staff told the board a Phase 1 environmental study, completed during due diligence, cost just under $10,000 and that the district's architect-engineering team recommended a Phase 2 study that would cost approximately $100,000. Staff said the Phase 2 study would have to be completed by Nov. 11, the end of the six-month due-diligence period, and that the seller would not agree to any change in price or in the time allowed for due diligence. Because the seller would not extend the timeline or change price, staff said the board had to act before Nov. 11 to exit the contract.

Resident Craig, who identified himself during public comment, told the board he was surprised by the apparent move to terminate the contract and asked the board to explain why the action was necessary, whether the problem was foreseeable, how much had been spent to date and whether the district had a contingency plan. "I just hope that before you vote on it that you'll address a few things like why what happened," Craig said during public comment.

Board members voted to carry the motion; the transcript records a voice vote and the chair said "motion carried." The meeting record does not list roll-call vote tallies or names tied to specific yes/no votes in the transcript excerpt.

Staff presented the Phase 1 and Phase 2 cost figures and described the timing constraint as the primary driver for the termination. The board did not adopt any alternative plan during the meeting; staff and the board indicated the item required prompt action to preserve the district's position given the seller's refusal to modify price or deadlines.

The board announced its next regular meeting will be Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. in the Board of Education Room at 150 Pike Street.