Hempstead school renovation vote postponed

Faced with a divided community, Hempstead school officials have postponed a vote on an $18.1-million plan to renovate and reopen the long-shuttered Prospect Elementary School.

The district announced Friday that a referendum originally scheduled for Tuesday will be held Feb. 1 instead. District officials said they agreed to the postponement after Assemb. Earlene Hooper (D-Hempstead) offered to help in "exploring alternative funding" for the project.

Hooper, who is also the Assembly's deputy speaker, did not return calls Friday. But school officials said they were more confident of winning community support, after a 45-minute meeting with the legislator Thursday.

"I think it's great," said board president Charles Renfroe.

At recent public forums, some residents have questioned the district's insistence that Prospect School will be renovated without new cost to local taxpayers beyond the $500,000 already raised as the local share of expenses. The rest is to be paid through state aid, the district says.

State education officials agree the district's estimates are reasonable; local residents are not so sure.

"I don't think it's going to happen, because of the lack of trust people have," said Sandra Nichols, a longtime parent volunteer whose daughter graduated last spring.

Prospect School was boarded up in 2003 because of deterioration. Now, hundreds of students attend classes in portable structures, a source of frustration for many parents.

"It's all about the kids, but they don't have a voice," said Victoria Culbreath, a PTA leader who supports the Prospect renovations.