Hempstead, East Islip schools receive $70 million in state financing for upgrades

Two Long Island school districts have been approved for more than $70 million in low-interest, tax-free bonds for capital projects and upgrades, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday.

The Hempstead and East Islip districts were among 69 public school districts across the state to receive sums from $956.8 million in low-cost, tax-exempt bonds issued by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. The bonds are meant to support projects such as classroom additions and renovations, athletic field improvements, energy efficiency upgrades, safety enhancements, and technology updates to promote innovation and collaboration.

Hempstead received $39.4 million, while East Islip was approved for more than $31.7 million.

Hempstead schools Superintendent Regina Armstrong said the state program will grant the district a lower interest rate and longer repayment period for money officials borrowed to build Rhodes Academy, a prekindergarten through sixth-grade school on Washington Street in Hempstead.

Armstrong said the district borrowed about $46 million to rebuild the school at the site of the former Marguerite G. Rhodes School, which was closed in 2004 due to deterioration. It was reopened in September 2021.

“It’s a savings in term of your expenses,” Armstrong said in an interview. “It will drop down your expenses and give you more money for revenue for future years. The more revenue you have could be a difference between having programs or not.”

Armstrong said they did not have the final details on the new interest rate but noted it would be "lower than what they would normally borrow.” 

Stephen D. Harrison, assistant superintendent for business for the East Islip school district, said in a statement Wednesday that the district choose to enter the program "to afford the District with the opportunity for lower interest rates as compared to borrowing as a single entity."

"The low-cost, tax-exempt bonds offered via DASNY provide long-term, fixed-rate financing for districts to refinance short-term debt previously authorized by the community and used to fund capital projects," he said.

Harrison noted that since authorized by voters in May 2018, the district has utilized these funds to complete such capital projects as athletic field improvements, infrastructure renovations and security upgrades. 

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York is the state's public finance and construction authority.

Since 2002, DASNY’s School Districts Financing program has issued 114 separate series of bonds on behalf of over 350 school districts totaling more than $8.8 billion.

“Helping our students thrive means giving them the tools, the facilities, and the infrastructure they need to succeed in the classroom,” Hochul said in a statement announcing the statewide funding.