A 34 year cycle of closing schools
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
- George Santayana
The issue of closing schools is not new for Mineola. In fact for the last 34 years the district has closed, reopened, built extensions and a new building all WITHOUT an increase in student enrollment. While we cannot change the past, we should be able to learn from it. Here are some observations:
- Trying to rezone a dwindling student population doesn’t work.
-simply closing a building and rezoning the students will not create an ideal situation. Each time it was tried it was ultimately reverted.
- The sizes of the buildings limit the reconfiguration possibilities.
-Closing Cross in 1982 without modifying a building was problematic. Within 6 years an extension was necessary on Meadow, even though the enrollment was smaller 6 years later.
-Opening Cross without an increase in enrollment was costly. There was a demonstrated need for space, but instead of modifying existing buildings through a capital expenditure, the district incurred the costs of staffing and operating an additional building.
-Opening Willis Avenue provided a full day Kindergarten program as well as Administrative office space. More importantly it addressed a long standing issue of a dilapidated and dangerous building. In hindsight modifying the existing buildings may have proved to be more cost effective.
-New mandates and enhanced programs required additional space in buildings
-Computer labs, special education mandates, ESL mandates all required dedicated space in order to deliver the service correctly
- No one wants their school to close
-In the absence of any significant change in the structure of the district, I don’t see this 30 year cycle changing. In the past when finances were tight the district closed schools. When finances got better schools were reopened. There were valid reasons behind all of the previous decisions, but one thing has not changed- we continue to have a decrease in student population.
1976 – Willis Avenue school closed, the 323 students were rezoned into 4 elementary schools Meadow 344, Cross 352, Jackson 638, and Hampton 375. Total district population 3,941
1982 -Cross Street school closed. Meadow 367, Jackson 491, Hampton 283. Total district population 2,732. A lot of controversy surrounded the decision on which school to close- Cross or Meadow. At the time a consultant recommended closing Meadow b/c it had fewer classrooms (19 vs. 16). The superintendent cited the vast discrepancy in the condition of the buildings and closed Cross.
1988 – A bond was passed for 2,000,000 to build a bus garage, elevators at the MS and HS and 6 additional classrooms for Meadow because the building proved to be too small. Enrollment- Meadow 370, Jackson 510, Hampton 276. Total district enrollment 2,634. (includes ½ Kindergarten) Note -there was a decrease in enrollment of 98 students.
1994- A 2,500,000 bond failed which was intended to reopen Cross, renovate Willis Avenue.
1995 –Monies were allocated in the budget to reopen Cross and fix Willis. In May the budget failed. When the budget went back out in June Willis was removed, Cross remained in and the budget passed Enrollment figures- Meadow 455, Jackson 481 and Hampton309. Total district enrollment 2,682 (includes ½ Kindergarten)
1996- Cross reopens.
2000 – Bond passed to demo and build a new school on the Willis Avenue site.
2003 Willis Avenue Opens
| Year | Willis | Cross | Jackson | Hampton | Meadow | Total District |
| 1975 | 323 | 351 | 582 | 319 | 237 | 4,074 |
| 1976 | 0 | 352 | 638 | 375 | 344 | 3,941 |
| 1982 | 0 | 0 | 491 | 283 | 367 | 2,732 |
| 1988 | 0 | 0 | 510 | 276 | 370 | 2,634 |
| 1997 | 0 | 351 | 503 | 318 | 297 | 2,902 |
| 2003 | 398 | 237 | 412 | 207 | 198 | 2,885 |
| 2010 | 354 | 212 | 431 | 178 | 199 | 2,728 |
Birth rates go up and down in cycles over periods of time. Also, with so many men and women overseas fighting wars, starting a family is next to impossible. Has anyone considered that as we draw troops out of war zones they might want to start having families and getting their lives set?
Todays New York Times reports the nations birth rate for 2009 is at it’s lowest in over 100 years and has been on a steady decline for the past 5 years.
Statistics such as these reinforce the appropriateness of consolidation. Today’s decline in births are the children who will be entering the school systems in the next 4 years. At the same time Mineola will have just completed the transition to a smaller more streamlined and equitable system of learning for its students. It will not be overcrowded, it will be functional and correct given the known decline in students.
Were the statistics showing a population boom over the past several years, I would disagree with the plan currently being undertaken, but the facts are what they are. If we continue with the status quo and the student population continues to shrink, we will be spending upwards of $40,000 per student in the next 5 or 6 years.
Facts are hard to deny. The near future will show the amount of students in the Mineola school system shrinking. Good fiscal sense dictates a pull back. The time is right, the plan is sensible. Let’s stiffen our spines and move forward as a community and make a school district that offers a great education for our children and a stable tax base for our community.