Cash-strapped Lindenhurst district eyes school closure

Cash-strapped Lindenhurst is mulling the potential closing of its Edward W. Bower Elementary School, with district officials bracing for a big parent turnout next week at a public forum on the issue.

While Lindenhurst is weighing several cost-cutting options, Superintendent Richard Nathan says the most likely would be shuttering the 243-student Bower School when classes end in June. Under that option, the majority of Bower students would be split among two other schools - possibly Harding Avenue and West Gates Avenue elementary schools.

"The only option that makes sense, which would not disrupt thousands of students, would be the closing of Bower," Nathan said Thursday in a phone interview.

"It's very, very emotional and difficult to close a school," added the superintendent, who described the plan as intended to hold taxes to a reasonable level and to avoid drastic cuts in student services. "But sometimes, we have to make decisions that may not be popular, but are in the best interest of taxpayers."

The forum is set for 8 p.m. Wednesday in the high school auditorium to accommodate an anticipated crowd. A decision on whether to close Bower is expected in December.

Like other Long Island districts, Lindenhurst expects continued losses in state financial aid next year, after taking a $2 million-plus hit this year. The district laid off 37 teachers in June, after the local teachers union rejected a two-year salary freeze proposed by the school board.

Lindenhurst's projections, updated last summer, show that the number of students in regular classes at Bower is expected to drop from 226 this year to 211 in 2019, continuing a downward trend. Those figures do not include a small number of special-education students at Bower, the smallest of seven local elementary schools.

Some Bower parents complain that the district has not released other enrollment and financial projections that would help them ask informed questions at the forum. Opponents of closing the school and transferring students also contend that it would inevitably produce larger classes in other schools.

"At this point, there's a lot of rumor, innuendo going on, and nobody knows the facts," said Diane Ronessi, the mother of two Bower students.

Ronessi is reserving an opinion on closing the school until she understands the impact on district finances and programs. She notes, however, that her children have had a "wonderful experience" at Bower.

District officials say they want to wait until Wednesday to make their case, to give all residents a chance to hear it simultaneously. Officials add that residents will have another opportunity to offer comments in November, and they promise that elementary class sizes will never exceed the district maximum of 26 students.