Due to financial difficulties and low enrollment numbers, Grace Day School on Merrick Road in Massapequa has canceled its day school pro
gram.
In a letter to parents, Rector/Head of School Rev. Dr. Walter V. Hillebrand along with wardens Ken Cynar and Barbara Picken, explained the difficult decision to end the program.
“For the past several years Grace Day School has been struggling to operate in an atmosphere of a nationwide economic recession and painfully slow recovery, the physical and economic impact of Hurricane Sandy on the school and church community, and demographic numbers reflecting a decline in school age populations in the area, all of which directly or indirectly have negatively impacted school enrollment,” the letter stated.
It also explained that in previous years, the Grace Day School population for K-8 was 250 students. Over the last 10 years, that number has decreased dramatically to 124 in 2014-15 and to 99 for the 2015-16 school year. The school requires at least 14 students per class on average to achieve close to its operating budget balance and only one class met this test.
Grace Church has committed hundreds of thousands of dollars to supplement the Day School to keep it operating. Unfortunately, those funds no longer exist as the budget is built on the enrollment numbers (tuition income) to be financiall
y sustainable. With an enrollment of 99 students, the lowest in the school’s history, it can no longer continue to operate and must eliminate grades one through eight for the 2015-16 school year and beyond.
The Grace School Early Childhood Center (two year, nursery school, pre-K and K), however, will remain open.
In contrast, the center is operating at near full capacity and kindergarten has a solid enrollment and, thereby, is adequately funded. These classes will resume for the fall of 2015 on schedule.
Grace Day School has taken many steps before coming to the difficult decision of closing. Such measures included re-assigning the teachers and staff and asking them to take on greater tasks and responsibilities to reduce costs, increasing tuition to close the financial gap, enlisting loyal, hardworking parent volunteers to help in school operations, asking teachers to not take a raise in the past few years, increasing advertising and integrating church and school music and sports programs.
Parents who received the letter were also given a full refund check, as the school has agreed to work with parents to generate student records for transfers and assist in finding other schools in the area.
—Submitted by Ken Cynar
