By Dan Israeli
"We are interested in both schools, and are weighing out both options," said Caracciolo, noting that additional planning time will be needed once it is decided where the students will end up. "We would like to make this decision as soon as possible. It would be a courtesy to both school districts."
Island Park first contacted the Long Beach district in January about the possibility of sending its students to LBHS for the 2008-09 school year, since its contract with West Hempstead High School is up next June. Students from the Island Park district - which does not have a high school - have been attending West Hempstead High since 1967. The two districts have operated on a series of five-year contracts, an arrangement that would come to an end if the Island Park board decides to send its middle schoolers to Long Beach.
How clean the break would be seems to be the next question, with the possibility of Island Park families choosing where to send their high school-bound children now being considered. According to Caracciolo, there has been vocal public support for both high schools.
"There is a big group of the community that wants this," Caracciolo said of the switch to Long Beach. "There is also a strong contingency of people who want to stay with West Hempstead. As a school board member, I have to listen to the community and parents, but I also have to listen to the kids. I'm still listening, and if a part of the community is interested in something, so am I."
In Long Beach, district officials and the Board of Education have voiced support for the deal. Superintendent Robert Greenberg said the district is prepared for an influx of students. "If Island Park students come here, our kids will integrate and accept them with open arms," Greenberg said.
Franklin Alvarado, president of the Long Beach school board, said there has been a good dialogue between his trustees and the Island Park board. "It's been professional, cordial and collaborative," he said. "The Island Park board has been doing a great job of representing its community. So far we haven't had any issues, no conflicts of interest."
While the communication between the districts may be positive, the public uproar over the issue appears to have drawn battles lines on both sides. It is clear from comments made by residents of both communities at recent public hearings that there is a divide among parents who are for or against sending Island Park students to Long Beach. Some have argued that Long Beach is overcrowded, and that its students would not welcome newcomers -- and might even express their opinions violently. Others have said that there is a strong bond between the communities, which a high school merger would illustrate.
Long Beach could receive over $1.2 million in tuition reimbursements in the first year alone, depending on whether the school took in all 87 incoming freshman from Island Park. A presentation at the Oct. 23 school board meeting showed that Long Beach would receive more than $14,000 per student. Greenberg said that the money could be used to extend and enhance programs, and to reduce the city's tax levy.
As far as overcrowding is concerned, the district would see a net increase of only 44 students if all of Island Park's eighth-graders joined the class of 2012 next fall. The number of incoming Island Park students is expected to drop over the following four years, according to a study of trends presented to the board. Long Beach would need to hire only three more teachers to cover the new students.
Nonetheless, there is still a great deal of tension accompanying the looming decision, especially in Island Park, where residents are still waiting to hear if a referendum will be put up for vote, allowing them to choose the high school. The referendum, which is still "up in the air," according to Caracciolo, would not be needed if the board decides to give parents the option of choosing either school.
A consultant hired recently by the Island Park district to study both options was fired after only a week of work, when it was discovered that he was a neighbor of the brother of Island Park board Trustee Michael Hastava. The district decided to let the consultant go because of a public fear that his analysis would not be objective.
According to Caracciolo, the Island Park board's decision will be based on several factors, including the final report of the Long Beach district's own fact-finding committee, led by Helen Cheliotes, assistant superintendent of curriculum. The committee will present its final report at an Oct. 27 work session on the Island Park issue. According to Cheliotes, the committee's goal is to answer all questions pertaining to the decision. "We are leaving out all the emotion," she said, "and finding out all the facts."
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