Schools
Population Slide Behind Board's Decision to Close 2 Schools
Unanimous board vote means Chestnut Hill, Forest Park are in final year.
The decision to close two Half Hollow Hills elementary schools at the end of the school year was a long time in the making.
Rooted in demographic trends, and predictions for the future, the decision came after two years of study of enrollment trends and district needs. A demographics study projected a decline in elementary school enrollment from 3,198 in 2014-15 to 2,774 by 2017-18.
But that doesn't mean that it was any less painful when the Board of Education voted Monday night to shut down Forest Park and Chestnut Hill schools.
"This has been a very difficult decision for us since all of our schools are top caliber in both facilities and educational excellence," the board said after the vote. "Further we recognize the emotional attachment that many have to these schools and we pledge to formulate a convergence plan that makes this transition for children and their families as seamless and pleasant as possible."
The pride children have in their current schools is unmistakable. Elementary school pupils marching in Saturday's homecoming parade at Half Hollow Hills West shouted out their schools' names with great passion along the full length of the parade.
After the vote, parents, concerned about the emotional attachment their children had to schools and staff and worried about longer trips to more distant schools, expressed unhappiness even as they seemed resigned to the decision. Some told Newsday that they would attempt to resist the closing of Forest Park.
Chestnut Hill parent Lynn Epstein said: "I think most Chestnut Hill parents are disappointed about the closure. No one wants their neighborhood elementary school closed and no one wants their young children to have to travel farther to go to school." One of her children will have to switch to a new elementary school next year.
But "The board had to make sure the buildings were fully utilized," she said, acknowledging the decline in enrollment.
What the population decline means for other schools as the smaller classes move up is unclear.
But that doesn't mean that it was any less painful when the Board of Education voted Monday night to shut down Forest Park and Chestnut Hill schools.
"This has been a very difficult decision for us since all of our schools are top caliber in both facilities and educational excellence," the board said after the vote. "Further we recognize the emotional attachment that many have to these schools and we pledge to formulate a convergence plan that makes this transition for children and their families as seamless and pleasant as possible."
The pride children have in their current schools is unmistakable. Elementary school pupils marching in Saturday's homecoming parade at Half Hollow Hills West shouted out their schools' names with great passion along the full length of the parade.
After the vote, parents, concerned about the emotional attachment their children had to schools and staff and worried about longer trips to more distant schools, expressed unhappiness even as they seemed resigned to the decision. Some told Newsday that they would attempt to resist the closing of Forest Park.
Chestnut Hill parent Lynn Epstein said: "I think most Chestnut Hill parents are disappointed about the closure. No one wants their neighborhood elementary school closed and no one wants their young children to have to travel farther to go to school." One of her children will have to switch to a new elementary school next year.
But "The board had to make sure the buildings were fully utilized," she said, acknowledging the decline in enrollment.
What the population decline means for other schools as the smaller classes move up is unclear.
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