Group: Close N. Bellmore elementary school

A divided citizens advisory committee recommended Wednesday night that North Bellmore close its Jacob Gunther Elementary School next year to save $1 million.

Many of the 300 parents and other residents who showed up for a district meeting Wednesday night expected the 238-student Gunther school to be targeted, in part because it has the smallest enrollment.

"We're trying to impact the smallest number of children," said committee member Nina Lanci, a former school board member.

The proposal now goes to North Bellmore school board, which could make a decision by Dec. 8.

Neither Superintendent Arnold M. Goldstein, who presided at the meeting, nor Joann DeLauter, the school board vice president, who sat in the audience, would speculate on what action the board might take. Goldstein noted, however, that the committee's advisory vote, while not a broad consensus, did lean heavily toward Gunther as the school to close.

Many Gunther parents expressed anger at the decision, and the committee vote showed sharp divisions on the panel itself. Of 21 votes cast by secret ballot, 12 members voted to close Gunther, six to close Newbridge Road Elementary, two to close John G. Dinkelmeyer Elementary and one to close Park Avenue Elementary.

The district is made up only of elementary schools. Its 2,100 students go on to middle and high school in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, which also draws kids from the Bellmore, Merrick and North Merrick elementary districts.

On Oct. 27, the appointed committee of residents and employees voted 19-1 to shut a school, joining a growing list of Long Island districts that have taken the step because of declining enrollment, financial pressures or a combination of the two.

North Bellmore school officials and a consultant calculated that the district could save $1.033 million by closing a school. Gunther also has the second-smallest capacity in the district, next to Park Avenue Elementary, which is slightly smaller.

Some Gunther parents contended Newbridge Road Elementary was a better choice, largely because it is on a busy commercial street and presumably would be easier to rent. Gunther and the district's four other elementary schools are in residential neighborhoods.

"I think it's a shame to close any of the schools, because it's suburbia, and we have neighborhood schools," said Linda Restivo, who has a fifth-grader at Gunther. "But Gunther in particular. People are more attached to it."

Residents against closing the 396-student Newbridge school note that it has a bigger enrollment and greater capacity than either Gunther or Park Avenue.

"For me personally, it's a very difficult decision," said Angela Bennett, a committee member who has a child enrolled at Park Avenue.

Since last spring, hundreds of North Bellmore parents and other residents have turned out for meetings on the closure issue, which has been debated in other communities.

The Lindenhurst and Mineola districts each closed one elementary school in June. Mineola plans a second closing next year.

In North Bellmore, district officials estimate that fixed costs -- including contractual employee salaries, health benefits and pension contributions -- will rise more than $2 million next year unless union concessions are negotiated.

North Bellmore estimates it can raise only $675,000 in new property tax revenue because the state is imposing a 2 percent cap on tax increases. Also, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday declined to repeat a commitment he has made to push next year for a 4 percent increase in school aid, because state income-tax revenue -- though up from last year -- are running lower than projected.