Residents March on Town Hall as Administrators Look for Space
After a recent daytime shooting in Huntington Station in the general vicinity of Jack Abrams Intermediate School, Huntington School Board members asked administrators to aggressively examine space options as an alternative to the existing Jack Abrams Intermediate School.
Periodic violence in Huntington Station has caused widespread concern among parents, school officials and residents of the area. Countless meetings have been held over the years with town, county, state and even federal officials, yet the violence has continued.
“The school district believes that any shooting compromises the safety of the students,” Superintendent John J. Finello said. Violence in the area has been a persistent problem and has led to the creation of various committees and task forces over the years.
In the days since the most recent shooting, parents have conducted a sit-in on the steps of town hall, school community members later engaged in a full-fledged march on town hall after massing in Heckscher Park, Mr. Finello has met with town and Suffolk Police officials and district administrators have aggressively examined space options.
Mr. Finello stressed that no decisions have been reached and that the district is still gathering information, facts and figures and will be sharing these with trustees. However, administrators have conducted brainstorming sessions and met with architects while they assess potential options.
District executives have looked at various possibilities and quickly eliminated some. Officials looked at absorbing the Jack Abrams School students into existing buildings, conducting split-sessions at Woodhull Intermediate School, buying or renting the former Robert K. Toaz Junior High School, swapping Jack Abrams School for Town Hall (which was formerly used as Huntington High School and Robert L. Simpson Junior High School), renting surplus space from other school districts in the town or from Western Suffolk BOCES and securing space at Coindre Hall or the Seminary for the Immaculate Conception in Lloyd Harbor.
“We are leaving no stone unturned,” Mr. Finello said about the district’s efforts to locate additional space. “While we are confident that Jack Abrams School itself is an outstanding one and the building itself is safe, we are very concerned with the continuing violence in the surrounding area. Suffolk Police have again increased patrols and are committed to addressing the situation.”
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