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Today's Newsday had an interesting and disturbing article regarding the Huntington school district's opposal of a high-density Senior Citizen project. The writer says the school board should have no say in what goes on in the town and should calm citizens fears that their schools are not safe instead of getting involved in senior citizen projects. I believe the writer has an alterior motive. What? That the Avalon project should have passed and if the district shouldn't fight senior citizen projects, it shouldn't fight any attempts to restart Avalon. The writer acknowledged Huntington isn't perfect as illustrated by NYS rating of "needs improvement." However the writer also feels that Huntington needs to bridge the divide centered around racial diversity rather than make it wider. "It has the rare opportunity to to lead the way in a racially and economically diverse Long Island public school system that (mostly) works."
And here is one suggestion. Look to merge Huntington and the Elwood school district mainly because Huntington is looking to layoff teachers.
Now I am currently trying to escape the Huntington district. My oldest is in St. Pat's and my youngest will be heading to school in 2 years. My house which several realtors said was very nice sells for less in Huntington because of the district. They said if this house were in Harborfields it would be worth at least $100k more. THAT IS A LOT!! Huntington does not have a good reputation among Long Island rankings or national rankings, especially when compared to surrounding districts like CSH, Harborfields, HHH, E. Northport or Elwood. So basically Huntington's problems can be solved by merging their crappy district into a good one. This infuriates me. My wife and I are close to getting a house in Elwood and although Elwood would have to approve it, I hate the idea that my wife and I bust our butt's everyday to afford a house that pays RIDICULOUS TAXES so that those not so fortunate children can go to the same schools that mine can. I understand the school budget problems. But most of that is because of mandatory teacher raises in a struggling economy which the private sector doesn't get or teacher pensions. If Huntington has to layoff teachers, tell them leave their unions behind. No more 3 months off every year. No more tenure. No more retiring in their 50's or 60's with benefits for life. You want to keep your job. Then give on something but don't complain when most are tenured other than the teachers 2 or 3 years out of school.
Does consolidation make sense? Yes only if 2 districts with similar populations and tax bases can achieve their goals. But to take a lousy district and merge it with a good district to save the lousy district is not right. I am opposed to this. I like the fact I can move to a town with people that are similar to me in beliefs, whether economic or religious or whatever. Do not force me into some BS social plan that has proven not to work in many districts across the Island. This is not racial discrimination but economic. I don't care who my next door neighbor is as long as they can afford their property and properly maintain it. That is how communities are built and kept stable. I don't want my child to be forced to go to schools with kids that join gangs because their economic status forces them into lives of crime. I believe most children are good. I believe most deserve a chance. I believe it is a very low percentage in gangs. But to close our eyes and say throw everyone into a salad bowl improves the lives of all is crap. Suffolk has not taken control of Huntington Station. Why should we believe consolidating Elwood will make Elwood better. It may make Huntington better. I am sure they would love to absorb the high taxes of Old Chester Hills and parts of E. Northport just like they have screwed Huntington Bay. I believe in fairness. It is not fundamentally fair to ask someone to pay 10-20k a year in taxes whereas people in high density projects or multi-family homes pay 0 to a few thousand for the same service.
I thought the opposite was true - ELWOOD wants to consolidate with HUNTINGTON. No?
Elwood reached out to 5 districts. Huntington was not one of them but S. Huntington was. The others were Harborfields, HHH, Commack and E. Northport. I had heard S. Huntington and E. Northport responded positively but residents voiced their disproval. I can see merging with E. Northport since many homes in E. Northport are in the Elwood district but Huntington or S. Huntington. That is a money grab. The writer obviously wants a higher tax base in Huntington to support the schools and racial diversity while theoretically improving the districts education.
This is the link to the article if you have Newsday access.
If the discipline and learning does not start and continue at home, it doesn't matter where your children go to school. Huntington has ALL the amenities that the surrounding districts do. Your children will never miss a beat when it comes to "programs". The teachers are just as good as the other schools, the valedictorian still goes to an elite school, etc. Successful people have graduated from Huntington!
What it also has is diversity, which many people don't like. Diversity can bring about some problems, but it also allows children to be learn about different cultures. I've never seen that as a bad thing; the real world is based around acceptance of others.
Ultimately, it does come to what your family is comfortable with. We actually purchased a home in HTon because we're not afraid of the direction the SD is going. My wife is a highly acclaimed teacher (she has the awards to prove it) and has an administration degree as well. She visited elementary schools in neighboring districts and was comfortable w/the school we are zoned for. Don't just go on test scores and hearsay, go see for yourself.
Today's Newsday had an interesting and disturbing article regarding the Huntington school district's opposal of a high-density Senior Citizen project.
That is an opinion column, not an article: Joye Brown is a columnist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sportsfan1970
And here is one suggestion. Look to merge Huntington and the Elwood school district ...
One kink in that thought is that the Huntington Union Free School District does not have any common border with the Elwood Union Free School District; and, I am unaware of any school district that is separated from itself by another school district, which would be the case if the Huntington Union Free School District and the Elwood Union Free School District merged.
I just don't see the parents and taxpayers of Elwood voting to bus their children to the Huntington schools whether or not they have a common border. Think about it. This a complete nonstarter.
If the discipline and learning does not start and continue at home, it doesn't matter where your children go to school. Huntington has ALL the amenities that the surrounding districts do. Your children will never miss a beat when it comes to "programs". The teachers are just as good as the other schools, the valedictorian still goes to an elite school, etc. Successful people have graduated from Huntington!
What it also has is diversity, which many people don't like. Diversity can bring about some problems, but it also allows children to be learn about different cultures. I've never seen that as a bad thing; the real world is based around acceptance of others.
Ultimately, it does come to what your family is comfortable with. We actually purchased a home in HTon because we're not afraid of the direction the SD is going. My wife is a highly acclaimed teacher (she has the awards to prove it) and has an administration degree as well. She visited elementary schools in neighboring districts and was comfortable w/the school we are zoned for. Don't just go on test scores and hearsay, go see for yourself.
Every district on Long Island has at the very least, similar basic and fundamental amenities, whether the students choose to take advantage of them or not....and I'm sure that every year, the valedictorian of Wyandanch HS goes to a great college as well.
Trust me, I don't think Huntington is a bad school district at all, or that having less than a 98% white student body is a negative.....but I do agree with what sportsfan1970 is saying here regarding the district's busing policy. Is there ANY other SD on Long Island that still employs this (IMO) outdated practice?
I understand the motivation behind the concept, and I'll even concede that it appears to work (to some degree) in Huntington.....but something about bringing rich kids from the schnazzy areas into schools in the crappier parts of town (and vice-versa) to "level the playing field" seems so artificial and unfair to people who get the short end of the stick. My understanding is that the zoning changes constantly and there's no way of telling what elementary school your children might be attending? I don't have kids, but even beyond that....I'd be very wary of investing in a home anywhere in this district just for the sake of not having any clue what I might be getting into. How do people take out a mortgage for half a million dollars and not know if their home is gonna be zoned for a top ranking elementary school or the one that routinely has shell casings laying around it's playground (OK, I know that's a major exaggeration)? IMO, the only reason that kind of zoning should ever change should be to reflect population trends. The district does this under the guise of "diversity", but it seems more like a big numbers game to me, and they've decided it's better to have a bunch of mediocre schools on paper than some excellent and some crummy ones.
Is anyone in either boat really getting a better education because of it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by sportsfan1970
Elwood reached out to 5 districts. Huntington was not one of them but S. Huntington was. The others were Harborfields, HHH, Commack and E. Northport. I had heard S. Huntington and E. Northport responded positively but residents voiced their disproval. I can see merging with E. Northport since many homes in E. Northport are in the Elwood district but Huntington or S. Huntington. That is a money grab. The writer obviously wants a higher tax base in Huntington to support the schools and racial diversity while theoretically improving the districts education.
This is the link to the article if you have Newsday access.
I'm very surprised residents in South Huntington SD didn't want to consolidate with Elwood. Isn't Elwood considered the far better district of the two?! I wouldn't worry too much....I think we'll see flying cars and intergalactic space travel before we see any Long Island school districts consolidated.
I think you're mis-reading some of the commentary in that article about "racial diversity"....the most interesting factoid for me was that demographic studies show Huntington SD is representative of what many LI communities will probably look like a generation from now....suggesting that perhaps the rest of the island could learn a bit going forward from Huntington's triumphs and missteps. I'm not normally a big Joye Brown fan, but this was a pretty good one. Check the quote from the RVC Superintendent...."Sifting and sorting children leads to mediocrity" - this is exactly what (I think) you were saying, and I agreed with, regarding busing. RVC is a smaller, though also somewhat diverse, district that has remained one of LI's best without moving their low income or non-white students around to cook the numbers.
I'm gonna take it you don't support any large scale development in Huntington (specifically, Avalon Bay)? I disagree bigtime on that one. Unless state legislation is radically rewritten to bring public labor compensation down to reasonable levels, building high density is the only thing that's gonna soften the residential tax burden. I don't live there, so I don't know for sure....but are people in Huntington very satisfied with the amount of property taxes they pay? If they are, then great....everything is kosher. If not, what other option is out there?
If the discipline and learning does not start and continue at home, it doesn't matter where your children go to school. Huntington has ALL the amenities that the surrounding districts do. Your children will never miss a beat when it comes to "programs". The teachers are just as good as the other schools, the valedictorian still goes to an elite school, etc. Successful people have graduated from Huntington!
What it also has is diversity, which many people don't like. Diversity can bring about some problems, but it also allows children to be learn about different cultures. I've never seen that as a bad thing; the real world is based around acceptance of others.
Ultimately, it does come to what your family is comfortable with. We actually purchased a home in HTon because we're not afraid of the direction the SD is going. My wife is a highly acclaimed teacher (she has the awards to prove it) and has an administration degree as well. She visited elementary schools in neighboring districts and was comfortable w/the school we are zoned for. Don't just go on test scores and hearsay, go see for yourself.
There have been shifts in grade levels and elementary boundaries in the Huntington schools which had contributed to some of the uneasiness in the real estate market in the district.
I just don't see the parents and taxpayers of Elwood voting to bus their children to the Huntington schools whether or not they have a common border. Think about it. This a complete nonstarter.
I think the article meant that Huntington SD should take a page from Elwood and look to consolidate with nearby districts....not that the two of them should consolidate. As Walter mentioned, it's only an opinion piece....not something that's really on the table.
I'm very surprised residents in South Huntington SD didn't want to consolidate with Elwood. Isn't Elwood considered the far better district of the two?! I wouldn't worry too much....I think we'll see flying cars and intergalactic space travel before we see any Long Island school districts consolidated.
Elwood SD is maybe a little better than South Huntington, but not by much.
Also, I am a graduate of HHH SD and they used to bus kids in all the time. I actually did not mind it because I was friends w/some really great black kids (total lack of better word, but you know what I mean). AND I was able to learn from these students... not everyone in this world is rich and well off.
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