The Board of Education will seek both professional and community advice concerning any contemplated closing of any school facility due to age, condition, size, or other considerations.
An advisory committee shall be formed, with membership comprising Board members, appropriate administrative staff, community representatives, and an architect(s) and/or other professionally-trained experts in evaluating building condition/use. Such committee will conduct a closing study, and will invite public comment (either verbally or in the form of a questionnaire), especially from those neighborhoods potentially affected by the action. The study should consider all or some of the following:
- age and physical condition of the building and its operating, systems, and program facilities contained therein;
- present and projected adequacy of site, in respect to location access, surrounding development, traffic patterns, and other environmental conditions;
- feasibility of reassignment of students to other schools, including alternative plans in accordance with Board policy on attendance areas;
- the costs related to the proposed closing;
- transportation factors;
- alternative uses of the building;
- continuity of instructional and community programs; and
- the historic value of the building.
The report of the advisory committee shall be made during a regular Board meeting, and members of the public shall be informed in advance of the data of such report.
The Board will retain ultimate discretion in determining whether to close any facility.
Cross-ref:
- 2260, Advisory Committees to the Board
Ref:
- Education Law §§1604; 1709
Adoption date: May 27, 1997
Reviewed: August 28, 2017