Much to the disappointment of many Massapequa residents, on Tuesday, Feb. 9, the Massapequa Board of Education voted 3-2 to 
approve the removal of the sixth grade from the elementary schools to the Alfred E. Berner Middle School. The middle school reconfiguration was approved despite a plethora of residents expressing their opposition and 3,000 residents signing a petition against the proposed reconfiguration.
Prior to the start of the meeting, board members were handed a binder with research supporting the anti-move position. Several residents expressed frustration that the board members did not take the time to review the binder before they voted. Residents further indicated there were many questions raised at the meeting that required further investigation. Board member Joseph Labella, who voted against the move, said he did so because 3-1 residents who spoke at the meeting were against the move and it is the responsibility of the board to represent the community they serve. Both Mr. Labella and board member Tim Taylor, who also voted against, implored residents to not vote against the school budget in retaliation for the vote, indicating that doing so would hurt Massapequa’s children.
One of the primary complaints expressed by those against the reconfiguration was that the district failed to provide residents with balanced presentations. The district only presented reasons supporting the reconfiguration and failed to present reasons against. The district never provided residents with any reasons in opposition to the move. Even when board members and parents were invited to visit other schools, as part of the exploratory process, no tours were given of schools with successful K-6 configurations.
The cost of moving the sixth grade to Berner as presented by Deputy Superintendent Alan Adcock was estimated at $1.9 million. Originally, on Jan. 26, Mr. Adcock presented the cost to taxpayers at $24 per household. A week later at the Feb. 4 meeting, that figure changed to $21 per household and finally the night of the vote that figure changed to .14 cents per household. Several residents indicated that they found the accounting to be confusing, incomplete and unrealistic and openly questioned its validity. After the meeting many people questioned why when the Massapequa School District has over $57 million in reserve funds they sat in an auditorium where paint was peeling from the ceilings, the bathrooms had holes in the walls and roofs of several buildings leak.
Adding to residents’ long list of grievances is that the Berner Middle School, with 1,600 students, will become the largest middle school in Nassau County. In comparison, middle schools the district toured as part of the exploratory process—Garden City, Manhasset and Oceanside, respectively, have 940, 850 and 1,270 students. Research has found consistent negative effects of large school size on student math and reading outcomes. As leaders in Massapequa and education experts not one person from the district even mentioned the large school size as a potential reason not to move the sixth grade.
For months, the sixth grade reconfiguration has divided the Massapequa community and this vote for the move has ensured that the division will continue. Residents opposed to the reconfiguration have promised to vote out board members who voted in favor of the move—as is their right. It would behoove the district to reach out to residents address their concerns about the true cost of the reconfiguration and how it plans on dealing with social, emotional and academic concerns in running the largest middle school in Nassau County.
—Allison Pulizzi
