Northport-East Northport schools pauses considering selling, leasing school buildings 

The Northport East Northport school board is pausing a plan to consider selling or leasing some of its buildings to determine if more suitable options are available.

The decision to slow down the process comes from a recommendation from the committee that came up with the idea and a community meeting on Oct. 5 where most speakers said they oppose the plan.

In September the board unveiled several proposals to sell or lease three of its school buildings for housing or other uses, citing declining enrollment and an expected $2 million reduction in revenue resulting from the reduced tax assessment of the Northport LIPA power plant. The buildings that were under consideration for sale or lease include Bellerose Avenue Elementary and Dickinson Avenue Elementary schools and the William J. Brosnan administrative building.

 “The Board has determined it is in the best interest of the district and the community to further review the financial impacts of all possible scenarios — sale, lease or retain,” said Board President Larry Licopoli, in an email to Newsday on Tuesday. “To do so, the Board has formed a Financial Planning Board Committee which is meeting in public to review these impacts.”

He said by pausing the process the district can better assess the long-term implications of any decisions on district finances and the community. 

In 2021 as part of a plan to address dwindling enrollment and an expected loss of tax revenue effective in the 2027-28 school year, the board established a Long-Range Financial Planning Committee to find solutions.

One of the recommendations of that committee was to engage a real estate firm to gather proposals for the potential sale or lease of the three buildings.

The board received proposals from several developers to build housing at the properties, and an offer from Northport Village to purchase the Brosnan building for use as a new village hall.

The proposals would need approval by residents through a public referendum.

Rob Berger lives in East Northport and was part of a district communications committee that was responsible for sharing information with the community related to the closure of the Bellerose and Dickinson schools at the end of the 2020-21 school year. He is in favor of selling all three buildings because he doesn’t believe the district should be a landlord.

“I do not know of another opportunity that can financially satisfy the needs of our communities besides selling the buildings,” Berger said.

East Northport resident Denise Schwartz, said the best thing would be for the district to retain all of the buildings and lease out space.

“A sale is forever,” she said. “A lease retains the asset and gives the district long-term residual income year after year and allows us to have a school again if we need to in the future.”

The next meeting of the Financial Planning Board Committee is Nov. 16.