Fallout continued to be felt Tuesday following the Huntington School District’s decision last week to transfer elementary school students out of a Huntington Station school in response to recent shootings nearby.
The Huntington branch of the NAACP rallied with about 100 parents, activists and a handful of elected officials in front of the Jack Abrams Intermediate School to condemn the decision to close the school after the latest flare-up of gun violence. Opponents likened the move as abandoning the community and criticized the vote itself because the school board did not allow the public to comment.
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“We cannot cave into violence, we must demand that our streets are safe, and we must insure that our children receive the best education possible,” said Dee Thompson, head of the NAACP’s local chapter. “Closing the doors of a school without community input has brought us to the point of divisiveness that we must address.”
Rebecca Sanin, a Huntington Station resident and former PTA head at the school, said: “Instead of standing up and relocating criminals, we’re relocating children.” She called for the board to reverse the decision to send the fourth, fifth and sixth graders to other schools throughout the district.
Suffolk County officials said they are increasing police patrols in the area after the latest shooting that prompted the school’s closure. In that case, a 16-year-old girl was shot in the leg near the school grounds.
Town of Huntington officials said they are stepping up housing code enforcement in the community, which they believe will address the root causes of some of the crime in the neighborhood. In addition, neighborhood watch organizations are reportedly forming in response to the recent violence.
For now, the school board said in a statement that it plans to transfer elementary school students elsewhere and will use the building as an alternative school for students in need of special attention, which some residents said is troubling.
“What kind of message are they sending to the gangs,” said Katina Isaac, who attended the rally. “They made them feel like they have the power to shut down a school.”
One fifth-grade student who attended the school said she was sad that she will not be able to return in the fall. “I understand about the shooting,” said 12-year-old Eylin Ortiz, “but it doesn’t have anything to do with the school or the students.”
