I worked at Jacob Gunther school for 2 years. Marie Testa is a gem and maintained a small country school feel. The teachers are very special also. I hope jobs will not be lost. This is a true tragedy .

This is a problem facing all of Long Island. As a teacher in Nassau County it is appalling that parents seem to be more concerned with the inconvenience of driving a bit further to a new school than they are with the fact that their children will be losing some of their favorite teachers. Of course jobs will be cut. Mr. Goldstein mentioned that several jobs are slated to cut including one of the best PE teachers in the district that was already cut to part time for this school year. Parents that are outraged because a building is being closed should be more concerned with the people that exist within those walls. Jobs will be lost, specialties will be cut (music, art, etc...) and students will, in turn, suffer! Home is where the heart is, and in a school that heart exists within the teachers that teach, not in the brick and mortar that they teach in! In the long run you're kids aren't going to care what building they walk into, they are more adaptable than that, they will however care about the fact that some of their favorite teachers won't be there, their class sizes WILL be larger, and some of their favorite classes will no longer exist!

Concerned LI Teacher:
I am "appalled" that you can state that we parents are just concerned about "being inconvenienced by driving a bit further" or that just a building is closing. We are concerned about the impact on the students and their losing their comfort zone - 'their school'. The parents are not lamenting the 'brick and mortar' of the building, but the building is an integral part of the COMMUNITY in which it resides. As you said, "Home is where the heart is" and for those children (as it would be for any other school in our district) that home is their school. And yes, they may miss their teachers too; why do you think the majority of the community did not want the school closed?! The school that's closing has small classes, great teachers and high test scores - the later being a testament to the first two! However, perhaps if the teachers had made some concessions and shared the burden, the outcome would have been different for them, the community and the students. More than 1/2 of the teachers in that district make $100+ and if we're talking $, it would seem that now is the time to talk. Yes, the children will adapt, but if there had been any long-term thinking earlier, maybe these children would still be able to remain in their school (not just a building, but what has been their "home") in their neighborhood, with their classmates and their teachers.

I am sorry if it came accross that way in my statement. I am trying to say that the bigger issue is quallity of education. We are dealing with it in my district as well. Teachers that make a great deal of money have earned it, they have multiple masters degrees and are (for the most part) excellent in what they do. The point that I was trying to make is that even with the closing of the school there will be cuts to the teachers. INstead of bringing up teacher salaries people concerned should look at the administrative salaries that are incurred by the district. It's an ELEMENTARY district and the Superintendent, along with SEVERAL assistant superintendents are paid more than politicians that are in charge of cities and states, not to mention districts that are exponentially larger right here on Long Island. That being said, the points that you made about small class sizes and the quality of education in the school that is closing are of course 100% VALID! I understand how my original post may have come off, and I apologize.

I agree, and I know that you understand that this is a very emotional issue for all concerned. Thank you for your response.

The projections I have seen seemed to imply there would be approximately 4 teacher elminations (of course those slated for job loss would be those with the least tenure from the district-wide list, so these job losses may not directly impact the teachers currently at Gunther). However, I hear the district will likely be offering a retirement incentive to decrease this number. Additionally, there will be the elimination of one Principal, which again will be from the district-wide tenure list, so I believe it will be the Principal from Park Ave. Elementary (another however, I have "heard" there may be another option for keeping her employed in the district). The kids from Gunther are going to experience an increase in class size from an average of 17 kids per class to an average of approximately 21. However, I'm not saying there isn't mountain of Administrative fat that can be cut from the budget (like why are we paying an IT person $125k + to maintain a network of what 100 computers?).

Thank you all for your feedback and for the respect you all have for everyone's opinions. Please keep this conversation going.

I went to Gunther back in the 70s and I have to say I was sad to here it was closing. Listening to the comments. I would have to say that an average of 17 kids per class is extremely low in my opinion. When I was going there back in the day there were at least 25 to 30 kids per grade and 2 classes per grade. I would have to say that enrollment is an issue. As far as the kids going from 17 to around 21 kids per class is not that big a deal.. The bad thing here is the job losses and the kids being moved from their comfort zone. They will adjust. Still sad to see it go.

The board and the administration failed us and the community. The board did not have the courage, wisdom, fiscal sense, or moral clarity to make the tough and right choice, which is to close Newbridge, if any school. Then no one even explained and clearly delineated why the decision was to close Gunther and not Newbridge. Could that be because it can't be explained and sufficiently justified? The whole process was a sham and a scam and the result an absolute travesty. All along the preordained decision was to close Gunther and I hope no one was fooled by the utter charade that followed. Everyone should have been spared the trouble and the waste as I think we all now know that Gunther was never going to be given a fair shake. Lastly, the board and the administration should refrain from patronizing Gunther parents now and during the upcoming transition process.

In response to SG's statement: "However, I'm not saying there isn't mountain of Administrative fat that can be cut from the budget...."

The most "fat" that can be cut out of the North Bellmore School District is the same "most fat" that can be cut out of the North Merrick School District and the Bellmore School District and the Merrick School District and the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District.

Maintaining--and paying taxes for--five separate but complete and redundant administrative teams within the same geographic (size) area and serving the same student base (enrollment numbers) as some single Union Free School Districts is (a) nuts, (b) not helping YOUR CHILDREN when it comes right down to it, and (c) within your power to address and correct.

To learn more, I can be reached at chriswendt117@gmail.com

I dont know what you people have against Newbridge, but it has 2xs the number of kids in it. They were going to move that many more kids? Yes, that makes sense...My child is in 5th grade and they have not 17, not 21, but 25 in his class. The kids will adapt just fine. I wish the biggest problem I had in my life was that my school was going to close.

The School Boards' Decision will to shut Jacob Gunther because of a 1.3 million dollar shortfall will change the future demographics of North Bellmore. We will loose the young urban professional who generally returns to raise a family. The community
school was--the major asset--in the home buying procedure, is now lost.
We were the same parents who were willing to accept more students by changing school lines ten years ago, prior to Martin Avenue being re-opened --and the board did not listen then either!
Even after the events of 9/ll, my children although older, returned to Jacob Gunther to visit the teachers because it was a safe haven.
The board has to realize that we need the new generation to make North
Bellmore their home, cuts could have been an alternative and some services
could have been reduced. Without the community school, we are just an ordinary
town-- we want to be extra-ordinary!

I disagree it’s not the school boards responsibility to be involved in urban planning. The school board should be concerned with educating the children in the most efficient and cost effective manner. Leave the urban planning to others the school system is already overburdened with to many unfunded mandates.

Peter hit on both a problem and the solution to it. Administrative consolidation is absolutely necessary among the 54 school districts in Nassau. But the 54 school boards are NOT the ones to be tasked with doing that...because they won't get it done!

Administrative consolidation is NOT the merger of school districts, but the combining of administrative services, administrative functions, and administrative positions across existing school district lines. Administrative services and functions do NOT include classroom teaching. Administrative positions do NOT include classroom teachers.

You can check in with me about the administrative consolidation concept at chriswendt117@gmail.com

FYI future demographics also means a community of only middle aged and seniors.How can a young mom walk to either Dinkelmeyer or Saw Mill from the Gunther community?
No school or no buses???

Rumor is the majority of the kids from Gunther will attend Saw Mill Road School because it is the least occupied. Welcome to North Bellmore schools where preplanning and thinking ahead is not a option.

Rumors are not facts, just as many of these comments are pure fiction, and many cynical dare i say. Cutting programs for all or closing a school to keep programs for all hmmmm what choice would you make? Big issue of committee choosing Gunther is if it was puppet of administration with no other option given, and that is untrue. Other districts closed schools on Long Island recently with a whimper not an explosion because boards voted and announced decision with no committee and no extra meetings asking for community input. To let kids stay in Gunther would mean closing programs like art, music, reading, science and English help for those struggling, and most likely large class sizes up to 35 which is a sacred cow in this community, just to scrape the surface. Closing Gunther means kids go to classes of 21 not 17 and maybe some kids get away from bullies who have hounded them because they had to stay in their one class per grade. If any one thinks school board volunteers are ogres wanting to close a school that person needs a reaility check and should run fro the board themselves.

Now: Gunther School if the lease it after it closes - not many options with out tearing it down or gutting the school. #1 rehabilitation center, boces like school? no doubt the type of business is very limited and could be drug rehab, treatment center for dependency or other type of clinic no one wants in a town.

It sounds like people's OX has been gored, it is time to attack the problem now it will only get worse.

I am curious as to how the board is going to split of the kids. Is it going to be split fairly even per grade between Dink and S.Mill? I heard there a chance that only a few kids in 5th grade may go to Dink while the rest are going to S.Mill. That would be tough for the few kids being seperated from their freinds they have been with for past 6 years. Also, all you saw mill parents, get ready for your nightmare drop off and pick up to get even worse.

In response to "I am curious as to how the board is going to split of the kids."

May I suggest waiting to see how, rather than conjuring up worst-case, or "nightmare" scenarios? Such speculation is seldom helpful.

I just happened to read all this when another article was posted today about Gunther. It is a fact that we are getting our rezoning letters this weekend and it will make this entire process very final. I have said it before. On a year that I should be celebrating my 6th graders graduation from Gunther. My heart has been filled with nothing but sadness. That my home school was targeted and shut down just based on the size of the enrolment. The entire district should of been rezoned 10 years ago But it was not and this is what we are left with. The families in the direct area around Jacob Gunther. Just lost plenty of money on the homes we live in. We can not sell if we wanted to. There unfortunately will not be any new families moving directly into my area It's very sad. On so many levels !