Demographers tell Sachem board not to close schools, cite special-education constraints and redistricting disruption

Consultants hired by the Sachem Central School District told trustees on Nov. 19 that a detailed enrollment and facilities analysis does not support closing any schools and cautioned that redistricting would shift — not solve — class-size inequities.

Tim Ammon, a demographer the board engaged for an enrollment and capacity study, said the district has experienced about an 11% enrollment decline over 15 years — roughly 3,100 students — but that the decline has flattened and projections show a slight uptick by 2031. “We’re not recommending any change in schools,” Ammon said, adding that special-education continuums, program adjacency and the distribution of rooms limit the district’s ability to create additional general-education capacity without significant disruption.

The consultants’ central argument was logistical: many rooms that appear available in individual buildings are reserved for special-education services or revenue-generating programs (for example, BOCES and CTE classes). Moving general-education students to balance section sizes would simply relocate programmatic constraints, Ammon said. “If you close a school, where are you going to put them?” he asked the board, urging sensitivity to program continuity and adjacency when considering closures.

Board members pressed for practical remedies after the report. Meredith (speaker 10) asked whether the consultants had considered redistricting to rebalance classes; Ammon said targeted boundary tweaks were tested and produced circular shifts in enrollment that created new imbalances. “We did some what-ifs, and they just didn’t work,” he said. He offered to return with more granular, section-by-section class-size data.

Trustees raised persistent equity concerns: several board members noted classrooms ranging from low teens to high twenties in enrollment and asked whether relocations of UPK or other programs could free general-education space. The consultants replied that reclaiming space used by stable programs such as UPK, Little Angels, or resource rooms would be possible only at the expense of services many students currently rely on.

The board asked the demographers to provide additional detail — including class-size by section and attendance-zone scenarios — to help the district consider whether any surgical adjustments are feasible without large-scale disruption. The consultants said they would supply that information to the superintendent and the board liaisons.

What happens next: The district will receive the consultants’ requested data and a more detailed analysis of class sizes and potential boundary scenarios. Trustees said they will use those materials as the district enters budget planning for 2026, with an eye to preserving programs while addressing fiscal pressures.