Sachem district considering closing a school to address up to $6.5M budget shortfall

The Sachem Central school board is considering several potential cuts — including closing a school — to address a multimillion budget shortfall.

"The district is currently facing a challenging budget season and is working to identify ways in which to close the financial deficit it is experiencing," Superintendent Patricia Trombetta said in a statement Thursday.

She added, "In order to address this deficit, the district is reviewing several options, which may include the closure of a building. As the district continues to develop our budget, please know all decisions will be made with careful consideration and in the best interest of all our students. We understand the significance such a decision would have, and we are working diligently to be fiscally responsible while prioritizing student needs and providing a high-quality educational program."

School officials said Thursday that they notified the state that they planned to pursue a possible school closure. The district is “in the process of completing all the necessary paperwork,” officials said in a statement.

At a meeting Wednesday night, school board officials discussed cost-saving measures to close a budget gap of up to $6.5 million, which officials attribute to insufficient state aid and property tax increases not keeping up with inflation.

One option discussed was closing Merrimac Elementary School in Holbrook and potentially redistricting students to other nearby elementary schools.

School officials said Merrimac was considered for closure because "it has the lowest student population and requires limited redistricting" among the district’s 10 elementary schools. About 350 students would be affected by the closure, officials said.

The district could save about $2 million if it closed an elementary school. Rental income if the building was leased could be about $600,000, according to a budget presentation.

The district is also considering increasing elementary class size by two students; eliminating middle school clubs, some middle school sports and late buses; combining certain junior varsity and varsity teams and closing a middle school. Another possibility is revising transportation distance limits among all schools, which officials said could be a proposition on the ballot during the budget vote in May.

The estimated savings range from $42,100 for eliminating certain middle school sports to $3.2 million for closing a middle school, according to the budget presentation.

"We definitely have to close something next year," board president Robert Scavo said during the Wednesday meeting, according to a video of the proceedings. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Scavo added that he wants to consider piercing the school property tax cap to generate more revenue for the district and potentially save some extracurricular activities. 

Sachem is one of the largest districts on Long Island, with about 12,000 students and 15 schools. Enrollment has dipped by 20% since the 2000-01 school year, when there were 14,948 students in the district, according to state enrollment data.

“I think closing a school is the last decision you should make,” former school board trustee Jim Kiernan said Thursday. “When you close a school you’re taking the heart of the community away.”

Kiernan said there should be more community input into the decision.

Last year, Sachem and West Babylon were the only two districts on Long Island that failed to pass budgets in the first round of voting. In a revote, Sachem voters approved a $374.3 million budget with a 1.92% tax levy hike, down from 4.87% previously proposed. District officials cut staff, increased elementary class sizes by about one student and eliminated sixth-grade foreign language instruction.

West Babylon school officials voted earlier this month to close Forest Avenue Elementary School by the end of August and repurpose the building. 

With Dandan Zou