Op-Ed: Parents Must Play Lead Role To Help Students Face School Closures

The decision has been made, and now the community waits to hear which two of its six will close.

This is a situation few, if any, thought the West Islip School District would face. But several factors including declining enrollment, dramatic change in our nation’s economic landscape, cuts in state aid and the new state tax cap have significantly altered the way school districts across Long Island are financing local education.

In West Islip, one way to reduce costs is the move by the Board of Education to close two schools. Even without the tax cap, school closures were a likelihood given the drop in enrollment. But this is not the end game and more cuts are coming.

Over the past several weeks, the looming decision of choosing clearly weighed on trustees. And once each board member announced their individual decision Tuesday night, it was clear that they were choosing what they felt was the lesser of two evils.

Now, after weeks of input from community members that ranged from the highly emotional to the rational, it’s time for West Islip to circle the wagons for the good of all of our students.

Obviously, those that will see their school close and those that will be redistricted will most impacted by this. But one has to wonder if the change will be harder on the kids, or their parents. In most cases, I would argue the latter.

While it is the trustees elected by the community making the tough decisions and the administrators paid through local tax dollars carrying out the difficult work, parents across the community must also assume their share of responsibility in making the transition as easy as possible on youngsters.

Following the decision this past Tuesday, some in the audience at the high school suggested the school district bring in counselors to help students with this transition. Others suggested that Superintendent Rick Simon speak with students to discuss the closing of schools.

But what the kids who will be changing schools really need now are their parents to be parents. Parents need to explain to their kids what is happening, be honest with them, and help them through a transition that many, if not all, will handle well.

Ultimately, if parents want to best help their kids deal with the forthcoming change, they need to act more like adults and less like a child that didn’t get what he/she wanted.

Editor's Note: Greg Sleter is a West Islip resident and Regional Editor with Patch.com. The opinions here are his own.