Nassau BOCES recommends closure of arts school, STEM center complex

Nassau BOCES officials are recommending closure of the Syosset complex that houses the 42-year-old Long Island High School for the Arts and the Doshi STEM Institute, opened just two years ago.

Superintendent Robert Dillon said Tuesday the recommendation, driven by low enrollments and funding shortages at both schools, is being made "with a heavy heart." The programs ran up a $2 million deficit in two years, he said.

Dillon, who took over the regional agency Sept. 1, said he will recommend that the closing occur in June, at the end of the current school year. The proposal is to be taken up by the Nassau Board of Cooperative Educational Services' governing board at its meeting Thursday night.

The BOCES chief met Tuesday night with more than 50 parents of affected students at the George Farber Administrative Center in Garden City. He acknowledged the prospect of shutdowns has caused great anxiety.

"This has been gut-wrenching for them," Dillon said. "We felt we had to be upfront about what our plans were."

This year, the total enrollment in both schools is 138 students -- less than half of the complex's 300-student capacity. Nassau BOCES had considered canceling the programs in March, but agreed to extend them at least one more school year in response to families' pleas.

Dillon voiced hope that the Syosset shutdown would not bring a total end to the arts and STEM programs, saying there could be a "transition" of some popular classes, such as dance, to other school sites in Nassau County.

He added, however, that the matter of transfers still was being negotiated with officials in some local districts. He declined to identify those districts and said no commitments have been made.

Nassau BOCES board president Eric Schultz, reached at home, said the board has not discussed the "transition" plan and had reached no conclusion on the question of closure.

Roger Tilles, Long Island's representative on the policy-making state Board of Regents, said he will add his voice to those calling for preservation of courses offered by the arts high school and vowed to speak at Thursday's BOCES board meeting. Tilles, of Great Neck, heads a state panel that is planning the rollout of a high school diploma focused on the performing arts.

"We need to have a Long Island school for the arts. It's needed now more than ever," he said. "I just hope there's some way they can keep the program going somewhere."

A parent leader, Laura Young of Plainview, said families are taking the news hard. Young's daughter, Schuyler, 16, a junior in the Plainview-Old Bethpage district, takes theater courses at the Syosset center.

"This is really a shock to us that, all of a sudden, they are going to have a vote," said Young, noting that it is only the third month of the school year.

Dillon, during the meeting with parents, defended the decision to make the closure recommendation now, as part of the annual monthslong budget process.

Several parents took BOCES administrators to task, saying the programs had not been publicized widely enough. Not all were satisfied when Robert Hanna, a BOCES deputy superintendent, replied that staffers had visited school officials in 44 local districts over the summer.

"Why aren't you at PTA meetings?" asked a Levittown district mother, Maureen Sawula, whose daughter, Madison, 16, takes theater classes at the arts school. "Most people don't know about it."

The schools are largely funded by tuition paid by local districts whose students take classes part- or full-time. Both are on the same campus at 239 Cold Spring Rd. in Syosset, and accept students from Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The arts school is Long Island's only public high school for aspiring actors, artists and musicians, providing professional training for careers that include screenwriting, theater production, jazz performance and animation graphics.

The Doshi STEM Institute, funded by the Doshi Foundation, opened in 2013 to provide specialized study in science research and related fields. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.

The institute, funded by the Doshi Foundation, is named for financial backer Dr. Leena Doshi, who owns a chain of radiology centers. A woman who identified herself as Leena Doshi, reached at the family's home Tuesday afternoon, declined to comment.

Nassau BOCES trustees, at their Sept. 28 meeting, approved a resolution authorizing the system's attorney to bring a lawsuit against the Doshi Foundation to recover money owed to Nassau BOCES arising from the STEM program, according to minutes of the meeting posted online.

Before Tuesday night's meeting, Hanna declined to comment on the status of any legal action against the Doshi Foundation. He said, however, that the Doshi Foundation paid $150,000 one year and did not make additional promised payments.

Earlier Tuesday, parent leaders worked the phones, trying once again to rally support.

Kelly Grunther of Roslyn said she is hoping against hope that a fundraising drive or some other initiative can save the performing arts school, which has trained hundreds of actors, dancers and other artists in the metropolitan region.

Grunther's son, Adam, 16, a junior at Roslyn High School, takes morning theater classes at the BOCES site in Syosset. He attends academic classes in his home school.

"Do I know that he eventually will be an actor?" the mother said. "No, but he should have the opportunity to pursue his passion."

The Long Island High School for the Arts saw overall enrollments drop from 197 during the 2008-09 academic year to 100 in the 2014-15 school year and 92 this school year.

The number of students in the Doshi STEM Institute increased from 20 students in 2013 to 48 students in 2014-15, then dropped to 46 this school year. When the institute opened, the projected enrollment in the third year was 150 students.

With Joie Tyrrell

By John Hildebrand

john.hildebrand@newsday.com@johnhnewsday

John Hildebrand is Newsday's senior education writer and has covered school news and policy issues affecting Long Island for more than 40 years.