School officials reveal fallout of Jack Abrams closing

Significantly larger class size is the primary fallout from last month's decision by the Huntington school board to close the Jack Abrams school, according to proposals revealed by school officials last night.

The closure will send students in kindergarten through fourth grade to the district's four primary schools - Flower Hill, Washington, Southdown and Jefferson. Those in fifth and sixth grades are slated for Woodhull Intermediate.

Huntington officials said class sizes in at least one grade in each of the four primary schools will reach 29 students or more. In three of the schools, two grades will have those class sizes. In all of the schools, as well as Woodhull, class size will average 21 to 32 students, officials reported.

Gasps from the audience greeted each of the revelations.

Almost all of Jack Abrams' teachers have been reassigned, administrators said, based on preference. "About 50 to 60 percent got what they wanted," assistant superintendent Joseph Giani said.

Some teachers will provide additional support, particularly in classrooms with 29 or more students, officials said. This was referred to by assistant superintendent Kenneth Card as a "silver lining" in the closing of Jack Abrams, as it will allow for better preparation for state testing.

In the fourth-grade music program, students will be dropped off early once a week at the high school for band and orchestra rehearsal and then bused to their primary school. Students from two schools at a time will practice together, officials said. This will "enrich" the music program, they said, allowing group practices and the assistance of high school students. There should be no additional busing costs, officials said.

More than 100 residents filled the auditorium at Finley Middle School for the meeting, the first since the board's decision to close Jack Abrams.

The school has been a focal point of heated contention as escalating violence in the surrounding neighborhood in Huntington Station led some parents to lobby for closing the school. Others implored county officials to step up anti-crime efforts. Last month, just a week after a 16-year-old girl was shot near a parking lot at the school, the board voted to reverse an April decision to create a sixth-grade center at Jack Abrams in September.

During last night's public commentary portion, which preceded the district's presentation on the reconfiguration, more than a dozen residents spoke out against closing Jack Abrams, their words followed often by loud applause.

Many said they worried about overcrowded classrooms. Others criticized the way the decision was carried out, saying there should have been public comments allowed at the meeting last month, and that others such as teachers should have been involved in the decision.

The board said a final report on the reconfiguration should be ready in two weeks.