More support for Valley Stream consolidation study

District 13 Board of Education members have decided they want to pursue a consolidation study, and voted unanimously last week to find out just how much it would cost.

The district would likely partner with District 30 and the Central High School District, as both of those school boards have also expressed support for study. A consolidation study would explore the possibility of merging the four Valley Stream school districts, or possibly three out of the four. Last month, the District 24 Board of Education voted against a study.

But District 13 board members say they are not going to let another district’s vote stand in the way. “You don’t need [District] 24 to have a study,” said trustee William Stris.

He noted that it is a “no-brainer” to explore the idea of a consolidation study, which was last done in 1995. Stris said that there are many benefits to merging the four Valley Stream school districts, most notably a unified curriculum for all students in the community. The potential educational benefits make consolidation a worthwhile topic to look at, he said.

District 13 Trustee Jeanne Greco Jacobs, who also voiced her support for a study as vice president of the Central High School District board, said it would be a disservice to the community to ignore the issue. She agreed with Stris about the benefits of consolidation, and added that it is not optimum to have three separate elementary school districts — with different curriculums and programs — feeding one secondary district. “It’s the 21st Century,” she said. “Education is progressing. I don’t think we should hold our kids back. Why should our kids be at a disadvantage in college and beyond?”

Jacobs said that the District 13 board was listening to the community by voting last week to look into a study. She said it is a topic that citizens ask about a lot. “At a minimum, we owe it to the kids and to the community to look into it,” she said.

District 13 Board of Education President Frank Chiachiere said he will now look to meet with the other board presidents. He explained that they will look to get price quotes from outside firms on what a consolidation study would cost.

Chiachiere said that ideally he would like to have all four school districts on board, but understands that District 24 trustees voted in the best interest of their community. The three other boards will still go ahead and see just how much a study would cost, he said.

“From the beginning,” he said, “I’ve said ‘Let’s have a conversation.’ It doesn’t cost us anything to talk.”

Stris said last week’s vote doesn’t commit the district to spending any money. If the prices for a study are too high, the board could decide not do one, or at least wait for better economic times.

Elise Antonelli, president of the District 30 Board of Education, told the Herald there is a consensus there to look into the cost of a study, but they also want to see a price first before going ahead with it.

Ultimately, Stris explained, the final say on consolidation belongs to the taxpayers.