The little schoolhouse that couldn't

In 1857, the 150 residents of Modern Times, today's Brentwood, raised a small fortune to build themselves a schoolhouse -- no small feat as the community didn't believe in money or taxes, but rather traded goods and services among its members.

Still, residents collected $400 to erect a building as unique as their community: an octagonal, 31-foot-wide, cedar-shingled, glass-ceilinged structure that was utilized as its first school between 1857 and 1907.

Today, while the school is on the National Register of Historic Places, one would be hard-pressed to see its former charm or, frankly, its value to the community. The windows and doors are boarded up, the siding appears rotted. The roof has caved in at points, a gaping hole allowing the elements to wreak havoc inside. It's a sad testament to what it once was. Even sadder and more ironic, the little schoolhouse is decaying on the sprawling grounds of the Anthony F. Felicio Administration Center, home of the Brentwood school district.

After serving as a private residence until the 1970s, the crumbling schoolhouse sat empty in a wooded lot until it was donated to the school district in 1988. The plan then was to restore it and turn it into a living museum. To great hoopla, the Town of Islip spent $15,000 to relocate it to the administration building grounds in June 1989.

It had clear historic significance. "We've always had our eye on it . . . We weren't going to let it go," Frank Jones, then town supervisor, told The New York Times.

Once relocated, the building's roof and cupola were stabilized. But since then, plans for restoring the schoolhouse have fallen through the cracks. As a result, the historic structure has suffered 26 more years of decay. Who's responsible?

Tracey Krut, spokeswoman for Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter, said the town has nothing to do with the schoolhouse and pointed to the Brentwood Historical Society.

Ellen Edelstein, a retired teacher and president of the society, estimates that it might cost $100,000 to $125,000 to restore the structure, and would love to raise the money.

"I want it done, sooner rather than later," she said. But her hands are tied: The building is owned by the school district and she needs its approval.

Felix Adeyeye, a spokesman for the district superintendent, offered the district's law firm, Lamb & Barnosky in Melville, for answers. It didn't return repeated calls.

And Helen Moss, president of the school board, circled right back to the historical society. "The Brentwood Historical Society is seeking assistance in restoration of the historic school house," she wrote in an email. "I will pass your interest to the president."

Edelstein said the historical society had been dormant between 2003 and 2012 because a number of its elderly members had died. It's unclear what led to the inaction in the 1990s.

When Edelstein re-established the historical society in 2012, she appealed to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, asking whether the nonprofit trade group would take on the schoolhouse restoration as a community service project. She said representatives from the organization visited the site and showed interest, but then superstorm Sandy hit. That was nearly three years ago.

It remains to be seen whether any action will ever be taken to bring the little schoolhouse back to its former glory.

This much is clear: For more than two decades, the children of Brentwood have been learning a sad lesson about the importance of historic preservation.

Claudia Gryvatz Copquin freelance journalist and essayist.