History repeats ….

Nearly 25 years ago, the school board seriously considered closing Park Avenue Elementary. Enrollment had fallen and those who couldn’t see beyond the immediate, argued that it would save taxpayer money.

Word was a condo developer was interested in the property. The public rose up and quashed that option.

Within a few years, the school was renovated and a needed addition was built.

A school building is a permanent long term asset -one that is built and paid for by the taxpayers of the community.

The Pine Island community lost its elementary school a year ago to address a budget shortfall.

Now Park Avenue Elementary is on the chopping block.

Short-term solutions are not the answer.

The housing market has begun a marked recovery. In five/ten years we may need another school. Do we then build another?

The closing of this school, the only remaining within the Village of Warwick, will not solve our long-term budget problem. It only delays dealing with expenditures that outpace revenue. Non-essential cuts are necessary and increased revenue is essential before you close a school that has served this community so well for so long and should into the future.

Joseph DiGregorio
Warwick