Not Giving Up: Parents Petition For Community Center at Abrams

A group of residents began circulating a petition Sunday that urges the Huntington School District Board of Education to reconsider its decision to create a district-wide 6th grade center at the Jack Abrams Intermediate School.

Instead of putting all of the children in the school that sits in the middle of a high-crime area, the petitioners would like to see Abrams become a community center.

"Frank Petrone, town supervisor, has publicly stated there is a vital need for a community center which will serve the HUFSD community and the greater community," Denise Stieve, one of the organizers, wrote on a Facebook page urging supporters to sign the petition. "He has expressed his interest in working with the HUFSD to utilize the JAI facility to develop a community center model should the building become available. The community center will play a significant role in the town's continued revitalization efforts of Huntington Station."

The petition states that the sixth-grade center plan was "voted on without sufficient community notice or input" and still leaves children in the  "immediate vicinity of an area plagued by ongoing violence and shootings."

There have been three shootings within blocks of the school in less than a year.

The petition states that the signers "implore" the Board of Education to find a new location for the sixth-grade center by September of 2010.

Instead, the groups urges one of two alternatives. The first  suggestions is have the four primary schools follow a K-4 configuration, while adding four portable classrooms to Flower Hill Primary and four portable classrooms to Washington Primary to house electives and address capacity.  Southdown Elementary and Jefferson Elementary will remain unchanged.  Release leftover unused capital reserve funds to pay for the above eight portables. Have Woodhull Intermediate School house all fifth and sixth grade students in the district with the cost of the three portables already in place in the budget. 

The second alternative suggestion is to make the former Touro Law School the district wide sixth-grade center and use leftover capital reserve funds for any updates and improvements needed to make the space ready for September of 2010 and beyond.

As of 2:30 p.m. Monday, the petition had 125 signatures even if some were skeptical about the mission.

One person who did sign the petitiion and identified him or herself only as L.Tate said, "You people are freakin crazy!! Since when did Touro offer their building to us? What happens to the 4th graders who are now cut off from 5th and 6th grades for band/orchestra, etc? Who says there's room atFlower Hill for portables? Are you the State Ed Department? Where did you pull that transportion number out of? Are you paid administrators? NO just stupid parents who think they can run a school distict! Get lives!! Better yet - GET OUT!! Your "demands" are a joke, and I'm sure the BOE are laughing their asses off at this! C-R-A-Z-Y!!

Others had more supportive comments.

"I have yet to hear any evidence in support of a stand alone 6th-grade center," Marina Obermaier said. "I'm signing this petition in support of the first option, but will defer to the second if it means that the safety issue is addressed by no longer utilizing JAI as a school. A community center would be a good repurposing of the facility."

"Solution one seems viable. As far as I understand the Touro site needs significant work to be used for school purposes," John Tierney said. "I would think there is some question about space requirements for portables and I would like to see assessments on how that would work, as well as the numbers on possible transportation savings. Also, some sort of confirmation that there is already sufficient space available in Southdown and Jefferson to increase enrollment there. (Really, is there? Then why are other schools so full?) But, in the name of the urgent goal of a safer environment for our children, Solution one appears to have promise. I look forward to some significant movement on this issue."

View the petition here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/make-jai-a-community-center