Nassau Residents Vote to Approve BOCES Purchase of Massapequa Park School

Local residents recently voted to allow Nassau BOCES to purchase the Carman Road School in Massapequa Park for $9 million.

The purchase was approved by a vote of 2,184 to 223, according to the unofficial results. The vote was held last Wednesday.

The official results will be approved by the agency’s Board at its Thursday, February 16 meeting.

Nassau BOCES has leased the school from the Massapequa Union Free School District since 1979, incurring an annual rental expense that was charged to all 56 component districts.

According to the school district, owning the building will eliminate that expense in 2017-2018 and in all following years and decrease the facilities rental costs charged to the component school districts by nearly $900,000 this school year.

The money for the school will come from the Nassau BOCES Capital Fund that were set aside specifically for this purpose.

“We would like to thank everyone who participated in this vote,” Dr. Robert J. Dillon, Nassau BOCES District Superintendent said. “Our purchase of the Carman Road School will provide long-term savings for our local school districts and a permanent home for a program that is critical to some of the most fragile students in Nassau County.”

The school serves medically fragile students who live with a range of disabilities. Many of the 160 students began attending the school when they were just 3 years old and will stay in the program until they are 21.