State Ed asked to probe Sachem district's sale of land in Holbrook
The Sachem Central School District's Board of Education and Sachem Teacher Academy building is pictured in Lake Ronkonkoma. Credit: Barry Sloan
A state legislator has asked the state Education Department and other agencies to investigate the Sachem Board of Education regarding the sale of four acres of district property in Holbrook that was approved during an emergency meeting in late December.
Assemb. Douglas Smith (R-Holbrook) wrote in a letter to state Education Commissioner Betty Rosa dated Dec. 27 that the Sachem Board of Education called an emergency meeting on Dec. 22 with little notice to sell four acres of property at 245 Union Avenue in Holbrook for an undisclosed amount.
Smith said in the letter that he and Suffolk County Legis. Anthony A. Piccirillo had informed the Board in October that there was a pending appraisal and offer from Suffolk County government seeking to buy and preserve the property as parkland. He said Suffolk County had approved and sent a sealed offer to Sachem on Dec. 20.
“The community wanted careful consideration of this property as parkland and was robbed of the opportunity to provide public comment on this resolution with such short notice,’ read Smith’s letter, which included signatures from leaders of the local chambers of commerce and civic groups.
The nine-member board voted 5-3 to sell the property, which currently houses an admiinistration building that had closed nearly a decade ago. One board member was absent.
But Tuesday, one of the owners of the business that agreed to the purchase said that they were backing out of the sale because the land was not worth what it was months ago when they first offered $2 million.
"I am with them 100 percent for it to be a park," said Abdul Mused, one of the owners of Bello Poultry Market, which is also located on Union Avenue. He said he notified his attorney Tuesday morning to cancel the sale.
School district officials could not immediately be reached Tuesday.
Smith, when told that the sale may be canceled, said Tuesday that the board's December meeting was still questionable and if the property sale is called off, then the Sachem Board should have to have a public meeting for any future plans for the property so "the public could weigh in."
District officials did not disclose how much the property was sold for or the amount of the offer they received from the county for the parcel during the Dec. 22 meeting. Smith said his understanding was the difference was about $250,000.
Boardmember Vincent Reynolds had suggested postponing a vote on the proposal.
“We need more information,” Reynolds said at the meeting. “We need to hear from the community.”
Board member Laura Slattery, who supported the proposal, said at the December meeting that the district had discussed the sale of the parcel at its October meeting.
Smith, the ranking member of the state Assembly Education Committee, said he was contacted by phone by Sachem at 1 p.m. on the day of the Dec. 22 meeting while the Assembly was in session in Albany to let him know about the emergency meeting and single agenda item. He said he reached out to several administrators and board of education members, community leaders and Suffolk County officials about the sale.
Smith’s letter said that the Sachem Board of Education violated several sections of the open meetings law
“This meeting, as I understand it, was sent out to board of education members with no more than 7 hours notice,” read the letter.
He would like the parcel to be perserved as parkland. He said the property is currently zoned as residential.
Kevin Guilfoyle, vice president of the Holbrook Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday that he was "cautiously optimistic" about the prospect of the land becoming a park although a canceled sale "doesn't mean the school district is obligated to sell it to the county as a park even though that is something that the community would look for."
Piccirillo, chair of the county Legislature's Environment, Parks and Agriculture committee, said it's imperative preserve open space in western Suffolk County so that "we don't lose that suburban feel."
Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked since 1998.
