As Wantagh residents prepare to vote May 19 on whether the school district should sell the historic Beech Street School property, the local preservation society is urging the community to consider the site’s historical significance.
The proposed $1,075,000 sale, which will appear on the district’s budget ballot, would transfer ownership of the property to developer Brah Property Owners Inc., which district officials said intends to demolish the building and construct two private homes on the site.
The issue was discussed at a meeting of the Town of Hempstead Landmark Commission last week, when members of the Wantagh Preservation Society pled their case for landmark recognition of the century old school building.
District officials, including Superintendent John McNamara and legal counsel representing the school district, also addressed the commission. In a statement to the Herald following the meeting, McNamara said the district is recommending the sale because the building “does not currently serve any purposeful use for the district,” adding that it is too small for instructional use and does not meet current New York State Education Department codes for housing students.
McNamara said the building would require more than $1 million in repairs, while ongoing operating costs would continue to burden the district if it remains vacant.
“Selling the property would allow the district to avoid these expenses and reinvest the proceeds into capital improvements district-wide, benefiting all five existing school buildings,” McNamara said.
Although McNamara said the district appreciates the preservation society’s efforts over the years, he described the proposed sale as ultimately “a financial decision” centered on avoiding additional costs tied to a building the district no longer uses.
Preservation society members said they understand the district’s position, but believe the community should fully understand what could be lost if the building is demolished.
“We want the people to make an educated decision, but we want both points of view to be known,” Thomas Watson, a society trustee, said.
The Beech Street School traces its roots to the founding of the district in 1891, when it purchased a one-acre parcel on what was then Seymour Avenue to construct a two-room schoolhouse, according to materials submitted as part of the landmark application to the town. The current building, which replaced the original two-room Seymour Avenue schoolhouse, was constructed in 1909 for $12,000, and dedicated in 1910.
It later served as a school administration building, and eventually as a nursery school from the 1980s until 2024, when its lease with Wee Friends Nursery came to an end.
Designed by architect Lewis Inglee, of Amityville, the building, which had four classrooms, a library and a teachers’ room, features classical architectural elements including Doric columns, bilateral symmetry and a front-door pediment, according to the preservation society’s landmark application. Historical research compiled by Babylon Town Historian Mary Cascone describes the building as “an excellent specimen” of Inglee’s school architecture.
Preservation advocates argue that the school represents more than simply an old building. “It was an important time in educational history,” Watson said. “Schools were transitioning from the one-room schoolhouse to larger schools. There was a different philosophy in terms of how kids should be educated.”
Larger schools, Watson explained, allowed students to be taught according to grade level, and features like larger windows, for ventilation, reflected changing ideas about children’s health and education in the early 1900s.
“There was a big focus on having outdoor activities for the health of the kids,” he said. “So these bigger schools had bigger properties. It was this time when the education system was changing for the better.”
The preservation society also contends that the site itself carries historical significance, because the district’s original two-room Seymour Avenue schoolhouse occupied the property before the current Beech Street School building was constructed in 1909.
“If that building’s demolished and there are private homes there,” Frank Jurs, another society trustee, said, “you’re not just losing the building that’s historic and important, but you’re losing the site of the original public school in that part of Wantagh.”
The landmark application also highlights the broader educational history of the area, including Wantagh’s historic Jerusalem School located within the Levittown School District. This one-room schoolhouse built in 1876 was granted landmark status by the town — an important precedent for future preservation efforts, as society members see it.
They acknowledged the legal complexities of their application, given the fact that the property is owned by a public school district, under state authority, and may not ultimately fall under Town of Hempstead jurisdiction.
“We’re taking action to do what we can,” Watson said. “We may not control the outcome, but we can fight for preservation and landmark recognition. That’s what we’re about.”
“I think it’s important that the school district knows why we feel it should be landmarked,” he added. “And maybe it’ll make the school board rethink what they’re doing.”
Society members also acknowledged that they do not have access to detailed information about the building’s maintenance costs or the economics of preserving the property. “We don’t have all the nitty-gritty,” Watson said. “Our expertise is limited to educating the people about the importance of the evolution of schooling in the community.”
According to district officials, net proceeds from the sale — after closing costs are deducted — would be deposited into the district’s capital reserve fund and used to support renovation and improvement projects across the district’s five existing school buildings.
“To continue to obligate the district and its taxpayers to the ongoing maintenance and repair costs of the building will divert money away from our student programs and school buildings that house our students,” McNamara said.
The landmark commission is expected to review the application before making a recommendation to the Town Board. Meanwhile, Wantagh residents will decide whether the district can move forward with the proposed sale in next week’s budget vote.
