MARCH 2018 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 19
Hempstead schools draw state review, again
School board president Maribel Touré, left, and acting superintendent Regina Armstrong debate issues before the school board. (Photo by Bob Giglione)
By EDEN LAIKIN
Persistently struggling: That’s
the term that the New York State
Education Department used to
describe the state of the Hempstead
School District as it has once again
come under a microscope.
Areas of critical concern that the
state identified include student
safety, nutrition, deteriorating
buildings, gang activity, inability
to collect and utilize millions
of dollars in grants and funds,
and graduation rates as low as
38 percent. To try and improve
educational outcomes in the
district, NYSED asked the schools’
chief to immediately begin
correcting the issues highlighted
in a January report, and submit
monthly memos on the progress,
beginning March 15. And NYSED
Commissioner MaryEllen Elia
sent an auditor to Hempstead
High School in February, to review
records and “evaluate if the school
met its indicators related to credit
accumulation” for seniors to
graduate.
“As always, our number one
priority is mutual: enable our
students to meet their educational
goals that will place them on the
track to college and career,” Acting
School Superintendent Regina
Armstrong said in a statement
in response to the state’s actions.
“We welcome New York State’s
cooperation in meeting these goals
and will continue to do all in our
power to provide our students with
the resources they need to succeed
in the classroom and secure a
brighter future.”
At the same time, Armstrong is
overseeing the District’s fiveyear
capital plan, which would
start with demolishing the longshuttered
Marguerite Golden
Rhodes Elementary school and
constructing a new school, to
ease the burden of overcrowded
classrooms. The three-year, $47
million project would be the
first step in addressing the issues
and would require residents
to approve a bond in May that
could raise property taxes from
$80 to $235 per homeowner each
year to fund Hempstead’s $2
million portion.
What’s more, it’s budget season
for school districts, and among
the first items on the agenda at
Hempstead’s February 15 school
board meeting was how to address
the inability of school business
officials to claim millions of dollars
in Medicaid reimbursements due
the district.
The latest saga in Hempstead began
when NYSED Commissioner Elia
commissioned a report on the
District in October 2017. The report
highlighted the 10 most critical
areas of concern throughout the
District and blamed most of the
deficiencies on the “irresponsible
behavior” of the school board. The
report stated that the board “fails
to prioritize student’s needs,” and
there’s a “lack of follow through
on agreed upon plans and lack of
transparency.” References were
made to earlier audits that found
a school board “too busy fighting
to solve problems.” The report
concluded that many of the issues
facing the Hempstead School
District are “longstanding and
systemic and that past corrective
action plans have been inadequately
implemented if at all.”
One issue noted in the report is
that the district has been unable to
do what’s necessary to collect and
use a $5.4 million state grant for
“community schools,” allocated to
them for the 2017-18 school year,
and unable to apply for and collect
millions of dollars in Medicaid
reimbursement funds for eligible
services.
Of the District’s 7,600 students,
some 70 percent come from
families who receive public
assistance; 40 percent are not
proficient in English; and
10 percent are students with
disabilities. Over the last decade,
the school district’s enrollment has
shifted to 70 percent Hispanic or
Latino, 31 percent black or African
American, and 2 percent white.
Hempstead’s graduation rates
remain among the lowest in
the state – with just 38 percent
graduating last year, compared to
a statewide average of 80 percent.
NYSED data also shows that since
September 2017, nearly 300 seniors
have left Hempstead High School
early – a 34 percent drop-out
rate. Only three of the district’s
10 schools are listed as in “Good
Standing” with the state education
department.
The report stressed that first and
foremost both the board members
and superintendent should have
regular state-sanctioned training
within the first year of service,
which is already required under
state law.
PRESS BRIEFINGS