Officials Announce School Closures in Long Island District

Three of the 18 schools in the Sachem school district on Long Island will close by next fall due to declining enrollment and rising costs.

Officials broke the news to parents Wednesday night that Gatelot and Tecumseh elementary schools and Sequoya Middle School will be shuttered, forcing 2,000 students to find new schools.

Heartbroken parents are at a loss.

"It's very sad. Sad for the kids, sad for the staff. It's just a very sad day," said Jenise Scanlon, who was in tears outside Gatelot Avenue Elementary School Thursday afternoon.

Parent Jennifer Borrero said she moved to the district to place her son Gabriel in his current school. Now he'll have to move.

"It breaks my heart," she said.

Magdalena Nowakowski's twins Lenny and Alex are first-graders at Gatelot. Alex has cerebral palsy, and his mother says adjusting to a new school won't be easy.

"It's going to affect him. It's going to affect everything," she said.

Sachem officials have not said if the teachers and staff at the three schools will lose their jobs. Officials did not make themselves available for comment Thursday but a spokesperson said more information will be made public at a Janury school board meeting.

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