The Massapequa Board of Education is planning to hold a special public hearing on the proposed lease of the Hawthorn School Building to Nassau BOCES for the establishment of a teacher training center. The hearing is scheduled for June 4 at 8:15 p.m. in the auditorium of McKenna Elementary School.

Hawthorn School is located on Second Ave. in Massapequa Park.

"I don't think there will be concerns about it," said Superintendent of Schools James Brucia earlier this month. "I think this is an opportunity to use the building in a good way."

According to a letter sent to local residents by Brucia, BOCES expects to locate 70 regular employees and will operate training labs to serve about 40 teachers or school administrators per day.

Hawthorn will become the location of several existing Nassau BOCES programs and facilities. BOCES is getting ready to move the administration staff, staff developers and support staff for a multimillion dollar grant program called the Long Island Enterprise Zone literacy grant program. Also, BOCES will be relating their current Westbury and Carle Place instructional technology staff developers to Hawthorn School.

"Hawthorn will be a storage area and an extensive film library and it will be a computer training center for teachers only," added School Board President Robert Thompson.

The agreement, which has not yet been finalized, stipulates that there will be no children attending school at the building and the district expects that there won't be any buses going to the school.

The deal with BOCES is expected to net the district $281,241 for the 1998-99 school year in rental fees. The district will also receive a cost of living adjusted increase each year. The district included this anticipated revenue in its proposed budget which was passed by the voters on May 20.

According to Thompson, much of the revenue earned from the Hawthorn lease will go to maintain the building and to help finance the refurbishment of the Ames School which the district plans to open as a ninth grade campus.

To prepare the building, which has been vacant for the past seven years, the district has budgeted $140,000 for repairs before expected July 1 date of occupancy.

While no contract has been signed, the district is looking at either a five or ten year lease.

Thompson said that he was very supportive of the prospective lease, noting that the entire campus will be cleaned up and renovated. "I think it's a great idea," said Thompson. "Right now it's not a nice looking building. This is a major improvement which will enhance the value of homes in the immediate area. It's really a win-win situation for both sides."