Future of Amityville's Northeast Elementary remains uncertain after meeting

After hearing through social media that Amityville's Northeast Elementary School could close for good at the end of the school year, Delia Bishop, like dozens of residents, said she attended the school board meeting earlier this week to learn the truth.

Bishop, who attended Northeast Elementary, said before the meeting Wednesday evening that she had nieces and nephews throughout the district. Closing the school, she said, would "dim their hope."

"I think they should try to fight to keep the school open for the community and for the teachers," Bishop said. "Amityville school has produced a lot of great, successful people. ... Just because it’s Amityville doesn’t mean that people can’t achieve and succeed. They have a shot just like anyone else."

Amityville schools Superintendent Gina Talbert, addressing questions at the meeting about the fate of the school, said no decision had been made. 

"As we look forward, the board of education has been actively discussing the future of Northeast for the 2025-2026 school year, but decisions have yet to be finalized," she said.

Northeast Elementary, which houses 126 prekindergarteners and 23 students with special needs, according to teachers union president Nakia Wolfe, faced the threat of closure in the spring when the district had a budget shortfall in the millions. The building was saved from shuttering thanks to a last-minute infusion of $2 million in state aid.

"This was a one-time life preserver that allowed us to continue serving our youngest scholars in this vital space," Talbert said of that $2 million in aid. 

The district is exploring ways to keep Northeast open by generating additional revenue or through other means, Talbert said. Annual operating costs for the school are about $1.7 million, according to the superintendent.

The Amityville district’s recent financial strains were apparent in March when the school board approved laying off 47 teachers and staff to bridge a $3.6 million budget deficit, despite the objections of community members.

The district's remaining teachers, about 210, have all been working without a contract since the previous agreement expired in June 2023, Wolfe said. About 40 teachers wearing black T-shirts with the phrase, "YOU CAN'T PUT STUDENTS FIRST IF YOU PUT TEACHERS LAST," attended Wednesday's meeting. Wolfe said negotiations have been ongoing but the union feels it is "spinning our wheels."

While fielding public questions Wednesday evening, Talbert said "renting and leasing" a portion of Northeast Elementary "so that we can earn revenue to help underwrite the cost" is an option being considered.

The school maintains a historical significance. The district reorganized in the 1960s after an NAACP lawsuit prompted a state Education Department order to desegregate the then nearly all-Black school, according to a Newsday article.

At the time, the district decided to place kindergarten students in Northeast Elementary and split first- through fifth-grade students between Northwest and Park Avenue schools, depending on where the students lived, according to a Newsday article. Northwest now has classes for kindergarten through second grade and Park Avenue has students in grades 3 through 5.

"We are committed to doing everything in our power to maintaining Northeast Elementary as a place of learning, growth and joy for our youngest scholars and their families," Talbert said. "Rest assured that this board and administration are considering every option to ensure we provide the best possible outcomes for our students and our community." 

With Dandan Zou