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Mostly Cloudy BOCES to vacate W.H. building in 2013
District, which will lose $500K in revenue, begins exploring other options
Declining enrollment is forcing Nassau BOCES to terminate its lease with the West Hempstead school district, and as of June 2013 it will vacate the Eagle Avenue building it has occupied and used as a middle school for more than two decades.
“It certainly is a concern,” Deputy Superintendent Richard Cunningham told the Herald, “because … this has been a source of revenue for the district.”
BOCES pays more than $500,000 in rent annually — income on which the district relies, particularly in times of fiscal hardship. To lose that revenue now, when other sources, such as federal funding and enrollment of Island Park students in West Hempstead High School, have decreased, unfunded mandates have increased and a state property tax cap has been implemented, is alarming. “Half a million dollars is a lot of money,” Cunningham said. “It represents a lot in [instructional] program.”
Still, school officials said, losing it is not the end of the world. “It’s somewhat disconcerting news, but we will deal with these challenges just as we have dealt with all of our other challenges in the last three or four years,” Superintendent John Hogan told residents at a Feb. 14 Board of Education meeting.
That BOCES notified the district of its impending departure about 18 months in advance is a great advantage, Hogan said, adding, “This could be an opportunity.” It gives administrators and school board trustees enough time to discuss options and, if needed, find a new tenant.
“We have a window of time here where we can act,” Cunningham said. “So it’s our hope that we do find another tenant, and if we don’t … we have time to look at our funding mechanisms and the expense side of the budget to figure out how we go forward in the 2013-14 school year and not have this be an impact for the children who use West Hempstead schools.”
Administrators plan to meet with the board next month to develop a plan, which could include exploring the sale of the building, according to Cunningham, who said it is too soon to comment further on that possibility. “We’re really at the very beginning,” he said.
