In-house: District considers permanent bus solution in potential land purchase

The option to purchase a 1.75-acre parcel of land next to the Northport LIRR train station, to be used as an in-house transportation facility, could become reality by next school year, according to  Northport-East Northport school district’s Assistant Superintendent for Business Bob Howard.

The potential purchase of the already existing transportation facility on Railroad Avenue in East Northport – as well as a building on the property – was discussed at the December 11 board of education meeting. The purchase would require voter approval.

“I am very excited to present publicly for the first time on this issue,” Assistant Superintendent for Business Bob Howard said as he began a nearly 30-minute slideshow presentation on the topic. Howard believes purchasing the property will enhance operational control of the transportation department, which is about 5% of the school district’s budget. “It’s a large component of our budget and something we always wanted to maintain control over,” Howard said. 

The board voted after his presentation to authorize the district to execute the necessary documents allowing for the purchase of the property at a cost of $3.95 million. The contract approved by the board allows the district to move forward with due diligence (including a site inspection and survey), community input and budgetary considerations. The purchase would require voter approval.  

The district currently leases property on Brightside Avenue in East Northport for $108,000 per year, rent likely to increase after June 30, 2025 when the existing lease expires, Howard said. 

That property houses the district’s 21 buses, with the district’s remaining buses leased from Huntington Coach, which has increased its costs significantly (approximately 5% annually) in recent years. The owner of the Brightside Avenue location, which has drawn criticism from local residents affected by their proximity to the bus lot, is not interested in selling the property. 

The  Railroad Avenue property could house over 50 buses and other vehicles and will result in immediate savings, eventually releasing the district from contractor-run buses: according to Howard, adding buses to the district’s in-house fleet now will save approximately $25,000 per bus, with future conversions resulting in direct savings, he said. 

The property on Railroad Avenue also has a building to house the district’s transportation offices and will allow for mechanical work to be done on premises. 

The East Northport property is a former Baumann and Sons transportation facility; Baumann and Sons filed for bankruptcy in April 2020 during the Covid shutdown. Nine months later, the property sold at auction for $1.25 million. The district was unable to purchase the property at that time, said Howard, due to voter approval timelines. 

Other options for bringing transportation services in-house include building a new facility on district-owned property (once discussed for Bellerose Avenue School and the Brosnan building); building an in-house facility would cost approximately $7 million, Howard said. This option, however, would eliminate greenspace and disturb property currently being leased by Variety Child Learning Center and Island Kids Early Childhood Center, respectively. Both the Bellerose and Brosnan sites are near residential areas as well, and would likely face opposition from the community if proposed there, he added. 

The East Northport property would require no change of zoning as it’s in an already commercial area, with the train tracks to the south and the LIRR parking lot to the east. 

Howard discussed the long-term financial savings the purchase could offer the district, including the benefit of owning an appreciable asset of land and building, but emphasized that the district was only at the beginning stages of the process, and that the purchase would be pending voter approval at the May 19 budget vote. “This is not the finish line, this is a beginning/starting point for us and our community to consider purchasing this property,” he said. If all the next steps are accomplished and district voters approve the purchase, a district-owned facility could be up and running by next school year, he explained.

Funding options as explained by Howard at the meeting include a budget appropriation with a tax levy increase for a one-time purchase; the use of surplus and reserves which offset project costs without a tax increase but reduce the reserves and limit future capital funding; or to issue a bond, which would provide structured financing and leverages $529,250 in debt service scheduled to sunset in 2026-2027.

The board and administration will discuss the options in public during the budget development process in January and February.

To view the December 11 presentation on the transportation facility purchase, click here. To view the December 11 board of education meeting video, click here. The presentation and discussion related to the property purchase begins at 1:06.