Residents seek redrafting of bond proposal

An artist’s rendering of what the completed high school would have looked like if the bond had been approved on March 15.

Courtesy John A. Grillo Architects

A petition signed by more than 550 community members has surfaced on social media in the wake of the Lynbrook School District’s defeated bond proposal, with disappointed residents calling for the Board of Education to put the project up for a second vote. It was rejected on March 15 by a margin of 314 votes, 1,363 to 1,049.

“The district didn’t do a good enough job impressing on the community how important the bond was,” said resident Laura Murray, who helped organize the petition with other parents and residents. “Many parents in the school community who supported the bond did not vote.” Murray also noted a misperception that the bond targeted only a small number of students in specific programs.

The $45 million initiative would have funded construction of a 646-seat performing arts center as well as upgrades to the school’s science labs and library.

The petition calls for a revised plan to be put up for a vote, since, it reads, the district’s current facilities are inadequate. “The goal of the petition is to indicate that many residents strongly believe that Lynbrook High School needs improvement,” said Murray, “and we want to urge the Board of Education to not give up, and to come back with a plan that the community can support.”

She argued that improvements to the high school would help make Lynbrook remain a desirable community, since many suburban towns are judged by their public school systems. “Several neighboring districts have passed bonds recently and have made improvements,” Murray said. “Everyone in our community benefits from it being someplace people want to live, regardless of whether they make use of the schools themselves.”

District administrators will meet for the first time since the bond vote on April 19, and more information about the future of the project will be considered, Superintendent Melissa Burak said. Murray added that the group of parents who created the petition plan to present it to the board.