As Parents at Growing School Cite Security Concerns, Redistricting Proposed as an Option

What started off as a school budget presentation on Tuesday night ended up being a hint at what could face the future of Riley Avenue Elementary School in Calverton - indeed the school district as a whole - as a school with a growing population and a school district with limited resources faced parents concerned for their children's safety.

Among those parents who attended, a few were unhappy to hear not quite as much that a library aide, teaching assistant, and full-time teacher are proposed to be laid off next year.

The proposed layoff of one security guard at Riley Avenue, said some, scared them the most.

"Safety is a very, very big issue here at Riley Avenue," said Karen DiGiaimo, a member of the Riley Avenue Parent's Association and mother of a student at the school. "Was the new development across the street taken into consideration? We need additional security here. We have no crossing guard."

Currently Riley and Aquebogue Schools, which teach kindergarten - fourth grade, have two security guards each, and are slated to lose one next year. Phillips and Roanoke Avenues each have one, both of which are proposed to remain. 

The community that sends its children Riley Avenue School, which originally constructed in 1965, has grown considerably in the past couple of decades, so much so that one board member said she believes redistricting the school district warrants, at the very least, a conversation.

"With issues and concerns about safety and security at any of our schools, there are immediate, short-term considerations that can be put in place, and have been," said Angela DeVito, a board member since 2005. She cited changing the after-school release schedule at Riley as one example.

"But one of the things that also has to be spoken about is the fact that you're at a critical mass with overcrowding," she said. "And we do have to talk that awful word: redistricting ... It may not be a solution. It may be something we have to disregard. But it's something we have to bring up."

According to data from the United States Census Bureau, Calverton's population blossomed from 4,759 in 1990 to 7,438 in 2009, a growth of 56 percent. The population of Baiting Hollow, which is also served by Riley, grew 35 percent from 2000-2009, as the smaller hamlet welcomed just over 500 people. From 1990-2009, Riverhead Town's population increased by 35 percent.

According to DeVito, the Riley Avenue district spans to Dolphin Avenue, east of Roanoke Avenue.

"It's a very, very large district. And what you do have, is this is the only part of town that has seen single-family developments in the past five years," she said in an interview following the board meeting. "So what you do have is single families bringing in young kids. So there is the increase here."

According to state enrollment data, Riley Avenue schooled 468 students in the 2000-2001 school year. By contrast, Principal David Enos said he welcomed two more students to Riley on Tuesday, bringing his current total to 642 - an increase of 37 percent. 

In addition to a growing population, the school district's hands are tied to a certain extent in regards to how much more it can spend. Finance Superintendent Joseph Singleton estimated that 30 to 40 percent of the school's budget is unfunded mandates from various layers of government and parents. During her presentation, Carney said mandated pension costs will make up 100 percent of the district's budget increase this upcoming year.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has also favored passing a two percent property tax cap, which would further hinder school districts' financial flexibility. However the tax cap could be overridden with 60 percent of public support. 

A comparison of enrollment in Riverhead's K-4 schools, and entire district, according to state data: 

*Total as of March 23, 2011.

No other board members seemed to want to join DeVito's discussion - at least not in the near future. 

"It could be an option down the road," said School Board Member Kathy Berezny. "Because some buildings are just more in tact than others."

Tim Griffing, a fellow board member, said his first choice would be to expand the current structure to fit the growing population with a capital improvements bond. Griffing is one of a few school board members on the district's Community Partnership for Revitalization Committee, which has been charged with the task of presenting the public with a bond it would accept to improve aging facilities across the school district after the public defeated a $123 million bond proposal by a 62 percent - 38 percent margin.

"I just am not even ready to think about (redistricting)," Griffing said. "I would rather see the bond passed and get this building readapted the way we have it laid out. We're just not there."

If the bond doesn't pass, Griffing said, "then we have to look at all possibilities. I'm not in favor of getting people worked up over that just yet. That's a real big decision."

DiGiamo said she was not prepared to have a redistricting conversation yet either. 

"That's not our concern right now," she said. "Our issue is security concerns."