BOE deliberates next steps after financial committee presentation

After first hiring a broker to market three district properties for sale or lease, then circling back for community input, members of the Northport-East Northport Board of Education (BOE) are mostly in agreement: the properties are an asset that can be utilized to increase district revenue and offset the $2 million shortfall from LIPA come 2027. 

President Larry Licopoli said at the November 30 BOE meeting at Northport High School that through engagement with the community, the board is getting direction about how to move forward in this process. 

After proposals for all three properties – Dickinson and Bellerose Avenue elementary schools and the William J. Brosnan building – were presented to the public by Newmark Realty, a pause on moving forward was demanded by many community members. As a result, all information and proposals that the district received were suspended, and a financial committee was created to analyze the fiscal aspects of maintaining the three properties and how they would impact district finances in the coming years. 

Summary of financial committee findings 
The Financial Planning Board Committee, which is made up of BOE trustees Licopoli, David Badanes, Donna McNaughton, Tom Loughran and Carol Taylor, along with Superintendent Robert Banzer and Assistant Superintendent Bob Howard, has met twice so far to discuss the financial aspects related to selling, leasing and maintaining the three district properties. 

The committee created objectives and essential questions to address during its meetings. They also presented a baseline graph that includes “financial assumptions” for the next five years to be used while discussing potential scenarios for the three buildings. The graph includes district expenses, building costs and district revenue, with a 2.5% budget increase every year until 2027-28. 

The graph indicates that the total cost of maintaining the three buildings during the current school year is $367,289 ($99,297 for Bellerose, $126,107 for Dickinson, and $141,885 for Brosnan). These figures do not take into account the lease revenue from Island Kids, which is $176,127 this year (allowing for a building profit of $34,000). 

For district homeowners with an assessed valuation at $500K, the annual cost per household of maintaining all three buildings – if they were mothballed and made no revenue – would be $5.13 for Bellerose, $6.52 for Dickinson, and $7.34 for the Brosnan building. 

The committee also discussed the “capital avoidance” for each district, which is the cost avoided by the district if the buildings are sold. The biggest concern, according to Banzer, is roof replacements for all three buildings, which would cost a total of $2,544,866 for Bellerose, $3,328,291 for Dickinson, and $2,954,795 for Brosnan. When stretching these costs over 25 years, which is the expected roof life, the roofs would cost the district $101,795 for Bellerose, $133,132 for Dickinson, and $188,192 for Brosnan, annually, without finance costs included. 

The committee reiterated that the district cannot operate in its current state, with at least 90% of Brosnan and almost half of Dickinson being utilized, if all three buildings are no longer available for its use. 

BOE perspectives
When given an opportunity to discuss the financial committee findings during their “committee of the whole,” BOE trustees shared opinions on how to move forward given the information at hand. 

BOE president Larry Licopoli stated that there’s no imminent need for the district to take action. “We have the resource of time to figure that out,” he said, adding that the committee still has a lot of work to do. “If holding onto these facilities was something that was going to break our back, then we’d be having a different type of conversation,” he said.

The district can hold onto the three properties while grappling with the information they have and considering community input, Licopoli stated. After reviewing all of the information, including the opportunity cost of keeping the buildings, a determination can be made, he said. Community engagement with this type of work is going to require a lot of time, he added, going into the next school year and working with the new superintendent, Dr. Dave Moyer, who “will be in the forefront” of facilitating the process.

Moyer will join the district on January 1, 2024. 

Victoria Buscareno said she hates to see the buildings mothballed and would rather see them utilized for district students – she wants the district to take advantage of the spaces. Banzer explained that two buildings are currently being used with students, staff, community members and Island Kids at Brosnan and staff and community members at Dickinson. 

David Badanes said that the district should consider selling one building and putting the profit toward the budget. He said that although the costs of maintaining the three buildings is considered manageable at around $100,000 each, community members do ask the BOE to make budget cuts every year and eliminating these costs would be impactful. 

“Sure, in the short term we don’t have to rush to sell anything, or to lease anything, but in the long-term, in my opinion, it would be a waste of taxpayer money if we can sell a building for millions of dollars and that can go back to reducing the budget,” Badanes said. 

Donna McNaughton said that “the community gets the schools it supports,” so if that means the community is committed to leasing the buildings, they need to commit to carrying them until they are leased. The same goes for a community center or other ideas voiced by the public: “We have to remember the broad strokes,” she said, and continue to have conversations. 

Carol Taylor said the buildings were designed for the district’s kids and the current situation presents an opportunity to think creatively to ensure the buildings are being utilized by the district. “Maybe it’s a STEM center, maybe it’s something that other districts can come and utilize. We can host all sorts of ideas. I want them to stay with us. They’re an asset that will only increase in value, not decrease in value,” Taylor said. “It’s not a time for catastrophe. I think that narrative has to change to one of creativity.”

Allison Noonan discussed pathways and certifications for students who may not be college-bound, but can graduate from high school with a certificate, from nursing assistance to cosmetology, using an alternative route. “The state education department is saying that schools should be investing in this,” she said. “We can really make a program where we’re not shipping kids out to BOCES for certifications, we are keeping them in district. It’s a great opportunity to think about what we really want to do with these buildings and how we want to capture all of our students, not just the students who are college-bound.” 

Community perspectives
Several community members voiced their opinions on the future of the three district buildings under discussion. Generally, most agreed that the buildings should not be sold to developers and should instead be used to generate revenue by way of leasing or for alternative educational programs. 

David Rivera said that relying on experts to provide pertinent information is an important part of this process. “We must rely on experts to do those things that we cannot do well ourselves. We must not replace expertise with our own agendas, with misinformation, with biases and other stuff that distorts discussion and debate,” he said. He referenced experts such as trained demographers who have made enrollment projections that continue to decrease for the next ten years and noted that Newmark should not be blamed for little interest in leasing the school buildings. “Newmark cannot make markets, Newmark cannot create demand that does not exist, Newmark is not responsible for and cannot change the dynamic of markets,” he said. 

“It is affordable to remain in a holding pattern, rather than the forced transactions that the community opposes,” he added, stating that in his opinion, big lease transactions will not occur and the community will have to agree on another plan. 

Lenny Olijnyk suggested that the district should “challenge its limits.” Instead of “taxing and spending,” he wants the community to explore new ideas. “We don’t want anymore multiple dwelling housing over here,” he said; instead, the buildings should be used for revenue-generating spaces, such as community centers, co-working spaces, alternative schools and daycare centers, and facility rentals to community organizations. He noted that there are grants available for education programs and corporate partnerships. “We have a choice in our community. We have the assets, which are only going to grow…it’s a no-brainer, if we sell, we lose.”

Ellen Richer, founder of Whole Child Academy, is a Northport resident who submitted a proposal to lease part of Dickinson. In her initial proposal to Newmark, Richer offered a lease price of $84,000 for the first year, with an increased rate reaching $108,000 by year five. During public participation on Thursday, however, she said the academy can contribute $100,000 to $150,000 in its first-year lease. “That’s what we’re capable of at our small and young size,” she said. 

A not-for-profit, Whole Child Academy is a private day school dedicated to serving “Twice Exceptional” (2e) students who learn differently. According to its proposal, Whole Child Academy expects to enroll a total of 30-40 students over the next 18 months; they currently have 20 full-time students at their Melville location, which is at “max capacity.” 

“We are ready to move in, take on this endeavor, start it and see how it goes,” Richer said. “There is no shortage of ideas, we just need someone to take it and actually implement. We are here to offer to do that and we hope that you will take us seriously and continue a dialogue with us.”

Several community members asked the board to consider the lease proposal from Whole Child Academy and any other proposals that would generate revenue without the need to sell the buildings. 

Next steps
The next objective for the financial committee is to develop a plan to reduce expenses and/or have alternative revenue sources for the 2027-28 school year, when the district will no longer receive $2 million per year in LIPA settlement payments. “A plan should be timed to align with the 2027-28 school year and may include a retirement incentive, program cuts, or other planned expense reductions,” states the committee presentation. From there, it plans to examine expenses impacting the district’s per pupil spending and establish its own performance management targets. 

The committee’s final objective is to create a comprehensive report that includes its findings as well as community input. “The next piece is to take some of the discussion that we’ve heard and consider it, dwell on it, research it, engage the community in it, and ultimately come to a final product,” Superintendent Banzer said. The next target date for a committee update is during the BOE meeting scheduled for January 11.

The November 30 BOE meeting video can be found here. The next meeting is scheduled for December 14 at 7pm.

Correction: Ellen Richer, founder of Whole Child Academy, is a Northport resident. Our original article stated she lived in East Northport.