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Staff reports
Declining enrollment and an impending fiscal crisis due to an anticipated drop in state funding has Connetquot schools taking a close look at the idea of closing John Pearl Elementary School in Bohemia.
The school board this spring has asked district administrators to estimate how John Pearl’s closure would affect staffing and expenditures.
More recently, the administration was asked by the board to research what the rezoned school boundary lines would look like for the remaining three elementary schools on the south end of the district — Bosti, Idle Hour and Sycamore. The district has a total of seven elementary schools.
District Superintendent Lynda G. Adams said in a letter to the community that her administration will examine the impact a John Pearl closure would have on bus routes, as well as what would become of a vacant school building.
“The district is now in the process of gathering all of this information and will share it during a future public meeting, the date for which has not yet been established,” Adams said in the letter.
The superintendent noted that school districts across the state may see a 20% decrease in state aid due to the economic deficit the state is facing.
“In Connetquot School District, the loss of 20% state aid would mean a decrease of approximately 11 million dollars in revenue,” she wrote. “Decreased revenue of that magnitude is debilitating to any school district.
“When we receive the new state aid revenue projection, we, along with all other school districts, may need to rethink our entire budget and the tremendous impact that kind of loss in revenue would have on all programs and staffing,” Adams added.
Already, to reduce operating costs in the 2020-21 school year, the board eliminated six administrative positions, including assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, assistant superintendent for special services, director of guidance, an elementary assistant principal, a high school assistant principal and the high school dean of students, Adams reported.
The school board said it has received a number of emails from the community concerning the potential closure of John Pearl.
“As trustees of the Board of Education, we are obligated to be fiscally responsible at all times on behalf of all Connetquot families and residents,” the board said in a letter to the community. “As such, we need to understand every option and scenario moving forward.
“We have read your emails and understand your feelings. We do not want to close the school at this time,” read the letter. “With that being said, please try to understand the current fiscal environment and know that it may become fiscally responsible to do so in the future.”
