Plainedge School District (Oyster Bay, Huntington, Nassau: lease, houses, neighborhoods)

[jmax]

Is it a good district?

[qatcat]

Originally Posted by jmax

Is it a good district?

I graduated in 1983 and have kept up with the school somewhat being family and friends stuck around. I have a few friends who teach there. I'd say the district has gotten better over the past few years. I wouldn't call it a top flight district but comparable to others in the area, slightly above average would be it . Most of the neighborhoods around Plainedge are nice too.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by jmax

Is it a good district?

I graduated in '82. Many of my classmates, as well as myself, went on to 4 year colleges. Looking at the programs the school now has, it would appear the school district continues to grow and improve it's academic offerings. I had access to AP courses that many of the larger and more affluent districts offered as well. One downside was that the school was soooo white that when I attended a large university, I was unprepared for the diversity of races I would meet there.

It is a small district without significant commercial properties to help support the schools through taxes. The tax burden is primarily on the homeowners.

The district has made some financial decisions which seem rather poor. They closed my former Jr HS, sold the land and a builder built close to 100 houses upon it (Makes sense -- level a school and then increase the population!) The former administration building was sold to Blackman Plumbing and the offices were then relocated to the HS. My old science classrooms were administrative space when I visited the school back in 2001. Picken Elementary was closed in 1975 and leased to the Town of Oyster Bay as town hall south. The former middle school lies vacant -- it had a planetarium in it, one of only a few contained in a school on LI. There is a very new middle school, and I can not tell you anything about it.

Populations are cyclical. One concern I would have in the Plainedge School District is that once the population swings to the younger side of the equation, there is going to be some sort of bond referendum to support new building to house the increased number of students. It is my understanding that classes are about 100 students smaller now than when I graduated (approx 360 students in my class.) The potential for a large tax increase is there.

Several years ago, in 2005, the budget failed and the district was forced into austerity. The sports programs were cut. The reprocussions to students who had the potential for athletic scholarships were not considered. The community ralled through fundraisers to raise the $550,000.00 cut and restore the sports programs. In what was almost a Cinderella story, the Red Devils football team won their Nassau Division for the season, but fell defeated by Huntington for the LI championship.

If I had to move back to the south shore of Nassau, I wouldn't hesitate to move into the Plainedge School District.