During the last several weeks, there has been considerable debate over the future of the Coles School. The City of Glen Cove's public library and two special education schools have expressed interest in the property and are putting forward proposals toward the purchase of the property. However, the one proposal I hope the school district will not consider is the sale of the property to the Solomon Schechter School. The Solomon Schechter School is already making plans to build a school elsewhere in Nassau County. If the school purchases the property, how long would the school commit to having its students educated there before deciding to sell Coles School to private development? What reassurance would city residents then have that multiple housing would not be considered? If the Solomon Schechter School makes a decision to purchase the property and then decides in the foreseeable future to sell the Coles School, what would prohibit the school from selling the property to the highest bidder? What would also prohibit the Solomon Schechter School from selling the Coles School property several years from now at a much higher price than what it had purchased from the school district? I remember when a neighborhood school around the corner from my house, the South School, was purchased by New York Tech over 20 years ago. It was a school that was built during the same era as the Coles School, a beautiful piece of architecture which went into disrepair when New York Tech abandoned it. Luckily, the School for Language and Communication Development purchased the property and is utilizing the school as a modern educational facility. I urge the School District to consider the alternative proposals before them which would keep the Coles School intact and continue to beautify the local community.

Steve Gonzalez