Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Wantagh School District is moving forward with the sale of its historic Beech Street property, advancing a plan first outlined last summer and now entering its final approval stages following a Feb. 3 vote by the Board of Education.
District Superintendent John McNamara confirmed that the district has reached a tentative agreement to sell the property, at 1865 Beech St., concluding part of the multi-year discussion about the future of the site.
“We had leased that property for many years,” McNamara explained at the meeting at Wantagh High School. “The lease expired over a year ago, and the building needs a good amount of work.” He added that adding that the building is not “a usable space for us as a district any longer.”
Board trustees unanimously approved the contract for the sale, to Uniondale-based developer Brah Property Owners whose plan is build two homes on the site. The board’s vote did not finalize the sale, but advanced the process, which still requires approval in a vote by district residents, which would take place in May. Brah Property Owners now enters a due diligence period of about 45 days.
The board’s vote marks the culmination of months of evaluation of the more than century-old building. A school first opened on the Beech Street site in 1904, serving elementary students in Wantagh. The original structure was replaced in 1909 with a larger two-story building, which continued operating as an elementary school until 1958.
The site later housed district administrative offices before being leased in 1982 to Wee Friends Nursery School and Day Camp, which operated there for more than four decades. That lease expired last summer, leaving the building vacant.
During board planning meetings last June, district officials considered three possibilities: repairing the buiding and continuing to lease it as a day care center, renovating it to expand the district’s universal pre-kindergarten programming, or selling it, which they ultimately concluded was the most fiscally responsible option.
They determined that the aging building required extensive and costly upgrades, including repairs to siding, windows, roofing, flooring, accessibility features, mechanical systems, electrical infrastructure, plumbing, security systems and playground equipment. The building’s basement had deteriorated, and its heating and boiler systems were outdated.
Administrators estimated that if they continued to leasing it, it would take more than a decade to recover renovation costs through rental income, and that converting the property into classroom space would effectively create a sixth school building, requiring additional staffing.
Proceeds from the sale would be directed into the district’s capital reserve fund, supporting renovation and infrastructure projects across Wantagh’s five schools: Forest Lake, Mandalay and Wantagh elementary schools, Wantagh Middle School and Wantagh High School, according to district officials.
While the board vote moved the sale process forward, the final decision will now rest with voters. State law requires public approval before a district can sell school property. If the due diligence phase concludes successfully, district officials expected to put the measure before residents in May, as part of the school budget vote.
McNamara also provided an update on capital projects funded by bonds approved by voters in 2022.
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades are currently underway at all five district schools. McNamara explained that the district developed a plan to carry out the work year-round — rather than just over the summer — to avoid dragging the project out over several years due to the scope of the project.
At Wantagh High School, window replacements have begun, while cooling system connections and electrical upgrades are continuing. Similar HVAC work is progressing at the middle school, and renovations are ongoing at Forest Lake and Mandalay, where classrooms are temporarily relocated during upgrades.
“The new windows really came out great,” McNamara said. “It’s going to be a much more efficient heating and cooling system when all the work is done.”
Bathroom renovations have already been completed at Forest Lake, and similar improvements are planned for Mandalay this summer. Looking ahead, the district is planning a major renovation of the high school library and courtyard area, also expected to begin this summer.
The board’s next meeting is March 26.
