West Islip to shut 2 elementary schools

West Islip Schools will close Paul E. Kirdahy and Westbrook elementary schools to help address declining enrollment and a multimillion-dollar budget gap.

The school board voted Thursday night to shutter the schools in June, sparking a flurry of concerns from parents who packed the West Islip High auditorium.

Faced with a $6 million budget deficit, board members said before the vote that they had little choice but to make a "tough" decision.

"We will pull together as a community, as we always do," Board president Steven Gellar told parents.

Jenifer Gross, 34, burst into tears afterward. She has two children at Kirdahy: a son in third grade and a daughter in first grade.

"It's sad that my kids are going to be split up between their friends, and they have to go to a whole new school," she said.

Amy Dowdell, 35, whose 5-year-old son is a kindergartner at Westbrook, said she is "devastated" by the closure.

"If we put on a brave face and look at this as a new adventure, hopefully our kids will, too," Dowdell said.

Over the next three months, district officials will work with parents to redraw elementary school boundaries. At the end of April, officials expect to notify students and their parents of their new school assignments.

The district intends to lease out the vacant buildings to generate additional revenue.

The decision came 10 months after the board commissioned a study that looked at the district's enrollment history and projections for the next decade.

"I have been impressed with the desire of everyone involved in the process to try and find solutions," Superintendent Richard A. Simon said in a statement.

Simon has recommended later consolidating the middle schools to further reduce costs.

Currently, the district has six elementary schools, two middle schools and a high school.

The district -- which has 5,100 students -- laid off 35 workers in 2010, including five administrators, 20 teachers and 10 support staff. It also cut programs and reduced library hours to save money.

Simon said to keep taxes under the 2 percent property tax cap that New York State lawmakers passed in June, the district, which has a $107 million budget, needs to make major spending cuts.

A breakdown of how the seven-member West Islip School Board voted on closing two of the district’s elementary schools.

-Steve Gellar, president, voted to close Paul E. Kirdahy and Westbrook elementary schools

-George Smith voted to close Paul E. Kirdahy and Westbrook elementary schools

-Robert Ulrich voted to close Paul E. Kirdahy and Oquenock elementary schools

-Scott Brady voted to close Paul E. Kirdahy and Oquenock elementary schools

-Ronald Maginniss voted to close Paul E. Kirdahy and Oquenock elementary schools

-Michael Zotto voted to close Bayview and Westbrook elementary schools

-Annmarie LaRosa, vice president, voted to close Bayview and Westbrook elementary schools