Nassau BOCES will close its special education preschool in Levittown due to a decline in enrollment and $2 million annual budget shortfall, Newsday reported.
The school serves preschoolers aged 3 to 5, who “have a combination of disabilities that may include significant delays in language, cognitive and motor development with associated learning and/or behavioral difficulties.”
The school, located at 72 Farmedge Rd., has been open since 1992 and will close on July 1 after eight members of the Nassau Boces board voted according to end it on Jan.11. The current enrollment at the school is 108 students and 33 of them need to find a new school, according to Newsday.
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Lucinda Hurley, Nassau BOCES spokesperson, said the decision was a very difficult and emotional one for the agency.
“This program has excellent outcomes for children - where almost all of our students return to their home districts for kindergarten,” Hurley told Patch. “It is unfortunate that the way the State funds such programs has forced us to make this decision.”
“Nassau BOCES will continue to provide early childhood programming at our Children’s Readiness Center in North Bellmore and at the Carman Road Preschool in Massapequa Park, she said.
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