Valley Stream school merger still on the table

Although not all four Valley Stream school districts are on board, the Central High School District will likely move forward in seeking a price for a possible consolidation study. The study would explore a merger of the high school district with elementary school districts 13, 24 and 30 to create one single K-through-12 district.

Last year, Board of Education members in the high school district and districts 13 and 30 voted to look into what a consolidation study would cost. However, board members said that did not guarantee that a study would take place — they simply wanted to know the price first before making a decision. But the District 24 board, by a 4-2 vote, decided against exploring the cost of a study. Members who opposed the idea said they did not want to spend additional taxpayer money in tough economic times.

Jeanne Greco Jacobs, president of the Central High School District Board of Education, said the district is planning to issue a request for proposals to find out how much a study would cost. She said that there are at least two companies, including one recommended by the New York State School Boards Association, that the district wants to hear from. “We’ll see where it takes us,” she said.

Although the three boards voted last year to find out the cost of a study, Greco Jacobs said there were other pressing issues that “distracted” them from revisiting the issue until now. District 13 and the Central High School District were both involved in superintendent searches.

Greco Jacobs said that District 24’s approval is not needed to undertake a consolidation study if the other three districts are in agreement. She also said that District 24 could join the effort later if it wanted to.

Elise Antonelli, the District 30 school board president, agreed. “I understand 24’s reasoning and rationale,” she said, “but I don’t think the other three districts should be held back. Our sentiments remain that consolidation is something that should definitely be looked at.”

Tony Iadevaio, vice president of both the District 24 and Central High School District boards, said that while the high school board has a right to look into the cost of a study, he believes it will ultimately be a waste of time because of District 24’s position. “Twenty-four won’t change its mind,” said Iadevaio. “Twenty-four doesn’t want to be involved in it at all.”

Iadevaio noted that District 24’s opposition is even stronger this year because another voice against consolidation has joined the board. New Trustee Lisa Pellicane ran on an anti-consolidation platform and defeated Ian Wraith, who last year voted in favor of finding out how much a study would cost.

Although her board has not discussed it this school year, Antonelli said that the subject of a consolidation study will be on the agenda at a future meeting. The District 30 board has the same five members as last year, so she does not expect a reversal of course.

Antonelli said that the driving force behind consolidation is educational benefits. She noted the importance of having a consistent K-through-12 program for all of the children in Valley Stream’s public schools. She also noted that there are some programs the high school district cannot offer — an International Baccalaureate program, for example — because there are elementary school components it cannot implement.

Students move up to the high school district when they reach seventh grade.

District 13 Board of Education President Frank Chiachiere said that students who take Advanced Placement courses in high school begin preparing as early as seventh grade when honors classes are offered. But with students coming from three separate elementary school districts, the educational level may not be equal.

“There are too many differences among the school districts,” Chiachiere said, “that when [the students] get to seventh grade, they’re not all on the same page.”

Vincent Toma, a Franklin Square resident who lives in District 13, said he thought the issue of consolidation was dead when the District 24 board rejected it. Noting that consolidation is one of the biggest decisions a school board can make, Toma said that there should be more public discussion before the other districts move ahead with a study. “I think there should be a question-and-answer session with the community,” he said.

The last time a consolidation study was done was in the mid-1990s. It projected little savings, if any, for the districts. Chiachiere said that the study was also undertaken for educational reasons. Then it was District 30, not District 24, that ultimately decided against going further.

Chiachiere said he would poll the District 13 Board of Education again this year to make sure trustees still want to go forward with determining the cost of a study. Greco Jacobs said that issuing a request for proposals will cost nothing beyond sending out letters to companies. “In essence, it’s getting estimates for the job,” she said.

If the three districts ultimately decide to do a study, Greco Jacobs said it is unknown whether the high school district would pay for it or the cost would be divided. Chiachiere, for one, is hopeful that the cost would be reasonable enough to explore the issue further. “Let’s see 15 years later what a fresh set of eyes says,” he said. “Who knows how this is all going to play out?”