Shrinking Sullivan West population

By FRITZ MAYER

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — In a presentation that came as a surprise to almost no one, superintendent Dr. Kenneth Hilton said the student population of the district is small and getting smaller.

The assessment came at a presentation to residents and members of the board of the Sullivan West Central School District on November 7, held at the high school in Lake Huntington. The population of the three districts that merged to form Sullivan West had a population of 1,722 in 1997. In 2007, the enrollment stands at 1,385, which is a nearly 20 percent decline. By 2009, Hilton said the student population will likely be even smaller-somewhere between 1,307 and 1,347.

At the same time, however, the populations of the towns that comprise the district are growing slightly, but the people here are less likely to have school-age children than in the past.

Hilton said the people who are buying homes in the area are likely to be empty nesters or weekenders. Working people starting families can’t afford to buy homes here, he said.

During his presentation, Hilton said his projections did not include the possibility that a casino would open in Monticello, or the possibility that Bethel Woods would suddenly attract a large number of new home-owners to the area. He did say, however, that it would take new jobs to attract families with children to the district. He said the situation is similar to the experience of rural communities throughout the country.

Further, he showed that the trend is common to a majority of school districts in Sullivan County. In the past five years, Sullivan West (or the three districts that preceded the merger) enrollment declined 11.2 percent. The drop at Liberty Central School District was even more severe at 14.2 percent. Only two districts gained students in the five-year period: the increase at the Tri-Valley Central School District was 1.7 percent and the increase at the Fallsburg Central School District was 3.7 percent.

The shrinking Sullivan West student population does not predate the merger of the three districts into one in 1999. According to figures provided by Hilton, in 1998, the number was 1,728. By 1999, there were 1,755 students. In 2000, the number dropped to 1,671 and has been declining ever since.

That does not necessarily mean that Sullivan West will be getting less money from the state. According to assistant superintendent for business Larry Lawrence, in the past, state aid was determined by a formula that included a per-student component. But that is no longer the case. A shrinking enrollment will mean that the increase in state aid to the district will be the minimum, but it will not be a reduction from previous years.

Still, the district is left with facilities that have a capacity to serve 3,244 students with a need to serve only 1,385, with a list of capital projects that officials would like to pursue, including the completion of the athletic fields at Sullivan West and the repairs and upgrades at the elementary school in Jeffersonville.

The unused schools

The question many people want answered is the fate of the Narrowsburg School and the Delaware Valley School, which were closed in 2005 due to budgetary considerations. That has not yet been determined, but Hilton said the community has to come to a decision on the question.

Since putting the schools in mothballs, the district has saved more than $450,000 in reduced operating and maintenance costs. However, the district still spends about $380,000 per year to maintain the schools, but that is not enough to prevent some deterioration, which cuts into the capital value of the two buildings.

One resident suggested that the district get rid of the high school, which opened in 2003. “Who would buy it?” Hilton asked.

When the presentation was over, school board members were effusive in their praise of Hilton. Noel van Swol, who frequently clashed with former superintendent Alan Derry about the costs surrounding the closed schools, said, “This is exactly the kind of information we were trying to get from the previous superintendent.”

The board of education will form a facilities committee as the next step regarding the closed schools, that the public will be invited to join, to determine the fate of the buildings.