Transportation plan for L.B. and Island Park

The Island Park School District will expand its partnership with the Long Beach School District this year, sharing transportation services — a move, school officials say, that will save both districts thousands of dollars.

At a Sept. 13 Long Beach Board of Education meeting, the school district’s chief operating officer, Michael DeVito, announced that the two districts, which have benefited from shared services for 30 years, had agreed on a plan that will continue to strengthen their “wonderful collaborative relationship around transportation.”

The Long Beach district has provided maintenance for Island Park’s school vehicles for three decades, DeVito said, and for the past three years it has allowed Island Park to use its fueling station as well. “They pay for the fuel they use,” he explained. “They fuel up at our facility, [and] it saves them about a dollar per gallon, which yields about $18,000 in savings in terms of taxes [per year].”

He continued, “…They’ve asked us if there’s any way to expand on our partnership in terms of transportation. For this school year, 2011-12, we’re going to be helping Island Park with some of their transportation and saving them approximately $130,000 … With the collaboration, they’re going to be saving Long Beach $80,000.”

The agreement comes after the Island Park district, which does not have a high school and sends its teens to either West Hempstead or Long Beach High, announced in May that it planned to cut some of its late bus service for high school students in an effort to save money in tough economic times.

School officials as well as residents of both districts lauded the decision, saying that it would benefit both districts. Though Island Park school officials were not available for comment as the Herald went to press, Long Beach Superintendent David Weiss said that the hard work that went into making the plan a reality is “something to be applauded,” noting that school officials are always working to save money.

“By coordinating transportation, we can do things that will benefit our districts,” Weiss said. “We will continue to look for ways to save the district money.” He added, “Certainly the [Long Beach school] board as a whole has shown an interest in these efficiencies, and any time we can do something that saves taxpayers money, we’re going to do it.”

Patti Ambrosia, a resident of Island Park and a Long Beach and Island Park PTA member, said she was thrilled by the news. “It’s a good move if we’re going to save money,” she said. “My son is in 10th grade at Long Beach High School — Long Beach has always been more than willing to accommodate the Island Park kids. [And] Island park has open arms [for them].

DeVito said that discussions between the districts began in late spring. Asked if there was a contract formalizing the agreement, he said there was not.

“It’s like a barter system,” he said. “Both districts would have to otherwise go out and seek those services through a contractor. We took a look at our existing relationship, and said there are opportunities to work together.”

Many Long Beach residents complimented the districts’ joint efforts. Francis McQuade, who was a member of the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee last year, praised the school officials’ decision. “I’m very impressed with what they’ve done,” he said. “I encourage them to be responsive to the needs of the public. The more costs they can contain, the more that’s available for programs and education.”

Ari Pine, who ran for a Long Beach Board of Education trustee seat last year, said he was in “full support” of the measure. He added that he was impressed with the greater level of transparency he is seeing in the district.

"If what’s on the agenda is to start saving money, I’m all for it,” Pine said. “This is a really heartening sign, and Mr. Weiss is coming in [as a new superintendent] and he’s been reaching out to families. To me,at least, it seems to be a new type of administration, and that’s really, really positive.”

DeVito, who said there has always been a good rapport between the two districts, added that he anticipates that it will continue, and that the transportation-sharing agreement speaks volumes of the bond between both districts. “We’ve been doing shared services for over 30 years,” he said. “Now that Island Park students can come to Long Beach for high school, it’s a good opportunity to increase the collaboration.”

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