The Sewanhaka Central High School District Board of Education is scheduled to discuss the issue of the abandoned Alva T. Stanforth (ATS) Junior High School at its Jan. 28 board meeting. Board President Martin Cernese said the board has received a lot of unsolicited requests for the property and felt it was time for the board to make a statement as to whether it chooses to sell or not to sell the property.

"The issue is going to be discussed in public by the board," Cernese said.

There will be a portion of the meeting during which the public can ask questions and make comments. Aubrey Phillips, one of the two Elmont representatives to the Sewanhaka Central High School District board, is encouraging residents to attend the meeting and bring before the board any questions or concerns regarding the property.

Since the school was closed in 1984, it has been the subject of controversy. In 1988, the Sewanhaka Central High School District, which owns the ATS property, has a plan that would sell the building and the property to a developer who would turn the property into a shopping mall and community center. However, when the referendum went out to vote, it was defeated.

According to the district, from 1992 to 1997, the Sewanhaka Central High School District and Elmont Elementary Board of Education negotiated the sale of ATS to the Elmont Elementary School District. However, the deal fell through as the Elmont School Board felt there were two many restrictions placed on the contract.

In 1999, the Sewanhaka Board of Education presented four options to the public. Three of the options called for renovating the playing fields and moving central administration offices to the ATS site. Since then, a new central administration building was built on the grounds of Sewanhaka High School. The fourth option called for the demolition of the building, the renovation of fields and the construction of a field house. None of the four options were well received by the public, particularly those in Elmont.

Now, with the district receiving requests for the property, the eight-member board appears ready to make ATS part of its agenda again. Phillips has made his feelings known that he supports keeping the 20-acre property together and having it benefit the community as opposed to selling it.

In last week's issue of the Three Village Times, it was stated that Phillips encouraged Elmont residents to stay focused on finding a common goal for the building that is beneficial to Elmont. In the article, Phillips emphasized the importance of holding on to the building. In actuality, however, Phillips emphasized holding on to the land since the entire building may not be salvageable.

In 1998, after the Elmont Elementary Board of Education voted to purchase the building from the Sewanhaka Central High School District in the deal that would eventually fall through, additional engineering studies were commissioned to further assess the building's condition. The reports showed the existence of significant structural problems. The reports also had confirmed that the cost of renovation had more than doubled in the prior three years, rising from $7 million in 1995 to $14 million in 1998.

However, there is still a strong belief among some of the people in Elmont, including Phillips, one of the Sewanhaka School District's eight board members, that the land could still be valuable to the community and should be put to use to benefit the community as opposed to selling it commercially. One plan that Phillips seems to favor is the construction of a new Elmont Public Library on the ATS property and the creation of a library district that would serve Elmont as well as the portion of Franklin Square and North Valley Stream that aren't served by a library district, but are entitled to by law.

The board meeting will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. at Sewanhaka High School.