Smithtown superintendent wants school cuts

Smithtown's schools superintendent urged the district's board to consider closing an elementary school and cutting transportation costs as it wrestles with declining enrollment and a potential $5 million decrease in state aid.

Some 225 residents attended the Tuesday night meeting, mostly in opposition to the potential closure of either Branch Brook, Dogwood or Nesconset elementary schools, school officials said.

Residents asked the board to create a citizens advisory committee but the idea was rejected.

Superintendent Edward Ehmann said he is sympathetic to residents' concerns but that the district needs to find a way to close its budget gap.

He said salaries are expected to increase by $3 million in 2011-12, pension contributions by $3.2 million and health care costs by as much as 10 percent, or $900,000, though that figure has not been finalized. Smithtown's budget this year is $221.5 million.

Shuttering a school would save $500,000 annually he said, and extending minimum busing limits, which would require voter approval, would save $800,000 per year.

"There are no easy choices," Ehmann said. "The menu of options goes from bad to worse . . . It's sad, actually."

School officials say their elementary-aged population is decreasing. The district currently has 4,711 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, but expects to have just 4,545 in 2012 and 4,382 by 2013. Ehmann said Smithtown could serve the population with eight elementary schools instead of nine.

Parents are urging the district to look for alternatives.

Julie Bove, second vice-president of the Branch Brook PTA, said closing a school would disrupt the entire community.

"We are all very upset," she said. "It would break up friendships for the children. The person across the street from you might redistrict to another school. These are people you grew up with, people you know."

Ehmann said the district has made a number of cuts in recent years, shedding 18 full-time employees in 2010, including 14 teachers. Some were lost because of declining enrollment and others through attrition.

"I totally understand their passion for their community school, but we have to take a look at the financial realities that exist," he said.

Ehmann expects to ask for a tax increase, though the district has not decided on an amount.

Smithtown Council of PTAs president Debbie Mahoney said the board is dealing as best it can with a bleak financial future. "It's tough," she said. "I think we are going to have to come together as a community to see what is best for our children and for our pocketbooks."