Plan to split elementary schools slammed

Parents in the Bayport-Blue Point school district should consider dividing the elementary schools by grades to save money, administrators said at a special meeting that became contentious Tuesday night.

Administrators propose using Blue Point Elementary for kindergarten and first grade, Academy Street Elementary for second and third grades, and Sylvan Avenue Elementary for fourth and fifth grades.

Tara Anglim, 40, of Bayport, spent the early part of the meeting collecting signatures of opponents of the plan; parents lined up for the opportunity to sign.

Anglim has three children, ages 5 to 8. She said that if the district sent students to different campuses based on their grades, all her children would have to go to different schools next year.

She said her middle child, age 7, had a hard time transitioning from one school to another.

"For him to go to five schools by the time he graduates is not fair," Anglim said.

Though many parents were concerned about disrupting their children's lives, Brigid Kruse, mother of four, said children were resilient and could adjust to change.

"Sometimes change can be scary," she said. "But sometimes change can be good."

Administrators say the plan could save the district $700,000 by reducing the number of elementary school teachers from 49 to 41. The superintendent said the district could not close a school because its student population has not declined enough.

"With the imposition of a property tax cap, the district must explore additional ways of reducing costs while maintaining its educational program," Superintendent Anthony J. Annunziato said hours before the start of the meeting, which was attended by more than 400 people.

Bayport-Blue Point had 2,502 students in 2009-10, the latest year for which data were reported to the state. It has three elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.

Last week, hundreds of residents in another district, North Bellmore, turned out to urge administrators to abandon their proposal.

Parents said they didn't want their children to be uprooted from school every couple of years. They also didn't favor having elementary school-age siblings attending different campuses.