The Northport-East Northport school district is proposing to close two elementary schools in a move that officials said would address declining enrollment and save millions of dollars.
The Board of Education will hold a special hearing Tuesday night to discuss the impact of closing Bellerose Avenue and Dickinson Avenue elementaries, with a vote scheduled for Thursday evening, according to a notice on the district’s website.
Parents in the district against the move are expected to rally outside the high school before the hearing. Parent Nicole Richichi, who has two children in the district, one in kindergarten and a third-grader, said that given all that children have gone through this past year dealing with COVID-19, the district should delay making such a big change.
“We don’t know the long-term effects of COVID on a child’s’ mental health or social and emotional well-being, and taking kids from their home schools and pushing them into another school is going to be isolating for them,” said Richichi, 39, of East Northport.
Closing Bellerose and Dickinson would move the district to a K-4, 5-8 and 9-12 model, with students from the closed buildings being rezoned to the remaining four elementary schools, and fifth-graders leaving their elementary schools one year earlier. If approved, the new configuration would start in the fall, district officials said.
The district currently has six elementary schools serving grades K-5, two middle schools for grades 6-8, and the high school. Bellerose, built in 1966, and Dickinson, built in 1956, enroll 274 and 369 students, respectively.
Richichi, a clinical social worker, said she is concerned about an early transition for fifth-graders to middle school.
“Many children at fifth grade are not ready to go into middle school — it is just too soon,” she said. “Why are they planning to put such a rush on all of this?”
According to a report on the district’s website, enrollment in the district has declined significantly since 2014. More specifically, enrollment decreased 10.6%, from 5,748 pupils in 2014-15 to 5,138 in 2019-20.
“We know that this is a difficult issue,” said Superintendent Robert Banzer, noting the district overall has lost 1,600 students in a decade. “We are really working to position ourselves for the future to maintain the quality program that our community comes to expect of the school district.”
If the schools close, the district anticipates saving more than $7.1 million, according to a report on the website, which also noted the possible reduction of two administrative positions: principals at the schools. In preparation for possible staff reductions, the district offered a retirement incentive this school year to eligible teachers, the report read. Banzer said the district does not anticipate any layoffs of teaching staff, and that about 60 staffers have taken the retirement package districtwide.
“These concerns and rising costs have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent settlement of certain tax certiorari proceedings brought by the Long Island Power Authority [LIPA] and others against the Town of Huntington concerning the assessed value of the Northport Power Plant, which is located within district boundaries,” read the report.
LIPA contended the town overassessed the plant’s property value for years and LIPA was paying far more in property taxes than it should have. The settlement reduced the amount of property taxes LIPA will pay the town and school district going forward.
The public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Northport High School’s auditorium. It also will be accessible via Zoom. The board is expected to discuss other potential uses for the schools. If the district were to entertain a sale of any of those buildings or properties, it would call for a voter referendum, Banzer said.
The district hired consultant SES Study Team of upstate Canastota in June 2019 and assembled a panel of community members to consider possible remedies to the declining enrollment and revenue issues. The report also said it would cost more than $10 million to upgrade and modernize the schools.
Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked for nearly 20 years.
