Northport-East Northport SD eyes plan to close some schools to ease possible tax burden on residents

Big changes could be coming to the Northport-East Northport School District, and it could mean higher taxes.
The Northport-East Northport School District says enrollment is going down and taxes in the area could soon go up. So to save some money, the district is proposing several plans that would close one or more of its schools.
Some parents, however, say the proposal is being rushed through, and they say that's especially concerning in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
News 12 met with four of those parents, who say the district informed the public of those plans through a mailer sent out last week. The flyer gives bullet points on the five options being considered.
All of the options would shut down Dickinson Elementary School, and three of the possible plans would also close Bellerose Avenue Elementary.
The district says each proposal would offer a different level of savings, with the amount ranging from around $4.7 million to $7.6 million per year. The district says it would help ease the tax burden on residents, caused by a settlement with LIPA involving its power plant.
However, some parents say the school board is trying to push the changes through without listening to them. They say the plans should be put on hold for now at least until COVID-19 is under control.
"We're in the middle of a pandemic, it's raging in this country. This is not the time to cram kids into a building and to remove them from the schools they love and the friends they love and make them start new in the fall where this pandemic could still be raging," says Jen Geiger, a Northport resident.
Parents say another concern is the continued use of Northport Middle School, which was closed in January after benzene and mercury were found near a cesspool. The building has since been deemed safe and was reopened. They say they'll try to make their voices heard Saturday at a rally outside the district's administrative building.
The Board of Education is expected to vote on the proposals at its meeting on Nov.19, and the plan would go into effect in the fall of next year.