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Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Elementary School, 792 Mount Ave.,...

Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Elementary School, 792 Mount Ave., Wyandanch. (Aug. 27, 2009) Credit: Richard Slattery

Wyandanch succeeded Tuesday night in its last-ditch effort to win voter support for renovating its deteriorated high school and other buildings with a $19.5 million proposition that calls for fixes ranging from updated science labs to window replacements.

The vote was 166 to 116 with all ballots counted, according to district officials.

Local school officials had warned that Wyandanch -- the poorest district on Long Island -- risked losing $14.6 million in state aid for the repair projects, if residents rejected their proposal a second time. Two larger propositions -- one for $24.5 million, the other for $155 million -- were voted down in September.

The proposition will raise taxes 1.27 percent, costing the average homeowner $65 a year, district officials said.

"I'm elated!" said Shirley Baker, the school board president. "I just want to thank the community for its support."

Despite organized opposition from a local civic group, most voters Tuesday agreed with local district officials that Wyandanch High School and other buildings were shabby and possibly unsafe.

"The schools desperately need repairs, and for that we need money," said proposition supporter David Niles, 60, an unemployed bus driver. "They're unsafe for the children."

Outside Wyandanch's administration building, a small group of local civic activists waved posters and urged passing motorists to vote "no." The group, which calls itself the Wyandanch Citizens' Coalition, had contended that the district's school board has not made a convincing case it can spend any renovation money efficiently.

"Quality of education has to come first," said one demonstrator, Kim Morgan, 56. "Once you show me that we're keeping up with other districts, we'll talk about building a new high school."

District officials said planned repairs at the high school, Milton L. Olive Middle School and Martin L. King Jr. Elementary School, would be completed by fall of 2014.

While Tuesday night's vote was relatively light for a district with 2,000 students, turnout was up slightly from Septembers' vote."

"That's one thing I've found about this community -- they want change," said Superintendent Pless Dickerson.

Wyandanch High School, which was built in 1959, was slated for the largest share of renovations, totaling $8.1 million. In recent years, the school has been visited repeatedly by state education officials who have expressed concern over shabby conditions, including an often leaky roof and windows patched with duct tape.

Some residents share those concerns. But recent power struggles for control of Wyandanch's school board and the patronage jobs it controls have left many locals reluctant to approve higher district spending. Wyandanch is the Island's poorest district in terms of taxable property and income.

"The high school really needs to be fixed up," said one voter, Valerie Aponte. "But some of the other schools had work done already, and they wasted a lot of money."

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