Syosset voters to weigh in on school bond proposals totaling $143.8M

Syosset voters go to the polls Oct. 1 to decide a pair of school bond proposals totaling $143.8 million and aimed at addressing the declining state of district buildings, as well as upgrading athletic facilities for an expanding student population.

The Facilities Improvement Bond is grouped into two propositions, the first of which would spend $110.5 million on structural maintenance and improvements to the district's 10 buildings, most of which were built in the 1950s and '60s, said Superintendent Tom Rogers.

Proposition 1 includes $26 million to replace portable classrooms, $11.4 million for a new gym at Syosset High School and $4.6 million to create a location for centralized guidance counseling and increased space for robotics, district officials said.

Proposition 2 would spend $33.2 million on work required to accommodate Syosset's increasing student population, which has grown by about 720 students, or 10%, in the past decade to 7,200 students, according to district officials. Plans include a new gym at Robbins Lane Elementary School at a cost of $8.5 million, a new gym at Baylis Elementary School for $7.8 million and a new gym at Walt Whitman Elementary School with a price tag of $6.5 million, officials said.

District officials project the high school population will grow 10% by 2030, to 2,558, Rogers said.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Robbins Lane Elementary School, Thompson Middle School and Syosset High School.

Projects delayed for decades

Both propositions require a simple majority vote. But Proposition 2 can only pass if Proposition 1 is approved, because much of the work in the second proposal depends on the completion of projects in the first, Rogers said. 

Adam Waxer, whose son is a Syosset High School junior, said he supports passage of both propositions.

"In Syosset, we pride ourselves on being a top district, in academics as well as arts, sports and sciences," said Waxer, who is also president of the booster club for the high school varsity boys lacrosse team.

"We just deserve the best facilities. ... If nothing is done, we will be behind."

The cost to taxpayers would be $211 annually per $10,000 paid in school taxes for Proposition 1, Rogers said, and $76 for each $10,000 for Proposition 2 — a total of $287 per $10,000 in taxes.

The first proposition will be among the more expensive on Long Island in recent memory, said Robert Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association. 

Patchogue-Medford voters approved a $85 million proposal in May that included a new artificial turf field at the high school and installing air conditioning in all classrooms, auditoriums and gyms. Uniondale voters approved a $118 million bond in 2018 that included building additions at several schools

Syosset is making up for projects that were delayed for decades as well as taking advantage of favorable state reimbursement rates that are decreasing, which could mean that in the future, the same work might get less in state reimbursement money, Rogers said.

"We have an old physical plant, and we've delayed work as much as possible," Rogers said. 

Portable classrooms, gym space

A total of 17 portable classrooms would be replaced at Berry Hill, Walt Whitman, Baylis and Village elementary schools, as part of Proposition 1. The existing classrooms were built some 40 years ago but meant to last half that.

Proposition 2 includes $3.7 million for a new track with artificial turf at Thompson Middle School, which currently has no track, said Syosset athletic director Scott Stueber.

"Each season, I have 100 to 120 members running track who don't have a track to run on," Stueber said, noting that the track teams practice on lines painted on the grass circling the athletic field.

The construction of a new high school gymnasium will help bring Syosset into line with the amount of gym space provided by other districts of similar size, Rogers said. Syosset currently provides 4.9 square feet of gym space per student, as opposed to Massapequa, which provides 12.2 square feet, and Jericho, which provides 18.1, according to an analysis by Syosset officials.

"We have six basketball teams at the high school and we have to rent space off-site" to practice, Stueber said. 

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.comScraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.