One by one, parents peppered Sachem Board of Education members and Superintendent of Schools Patricia Trombetta with questions about Merrimac Elementary School's future.

The fiery meeting came less than a week after the district announced it is considering shuttering the Holbrook school as part of its efforts to close a $6.5 million budget gap for next year.

"We're devastated," Merrimack Elementary School parent Steven Galaris said. "One of my favorite parts of the morning is walking the kids to school."

The district blamed a combination of dwindling enrollment, inflation and a lack of state aid for the financial issues. According to data from the New York Education Department, Sachem schools are projected to get an additional $1 million in state aid next year. The administration said that's not enough.

Closing Merrimac Elementary School would save the district $2 million and could generate roughly $600,000 in revenue if the building is rented out.

According to New York Education Department law, the district had to notify the state by March 1 if it anticipated closing a school building, which it did.

"The reason Merrimac, was just filed to the state with a name is to keep that option open if we're forced," Sachem Superintendent of Schools Patricia Trombetta said Tuesday night. "We don't have our second budget runs yet. We're waiting for the state. We need to have every option available if need be."

The possibility of closing Merrimac Elementary outraged parents who claimed they were blindsided and are now fighting to keep the school open.

"It doesn't seem like they have a short-term plan," Galaris said. "It doesn't seem like they have a long-term plan."

A petition to save the school has more than 2,000 signatures.

Tuesday night, Sachem Superintendent of Schools Patricia Trombetta told parents the board would be presented with other options at a special meeting tonight.

"Can you tell us the options?" one parent asked. "Tomorrow night," Trombetta responded.

She didn't offer specifics but according to a presentation at the last board meeting, the district is also considering several other options to close the budget deficit including increasing elementary class size by two students to save $800,000, eliminating middle school clubs and late busses to save $740,000, eliminating combined middle school sports like gymnastics, swimming and tennis to save $42,100 and combining junior varsity and varsity sports teams to save roughly $1 million.

The district could also close a middle school to save $3.2 million and generate $1.5 million in rental income.

Tonight's meeting will be held at the administration offices in Lake Ronkonkoma starting at 7 p.m. and according to the agenda is scheduled to include both a superintendent's report and an opportunity for public comments.