Schools

Trading Spaces: District Mulls Lease Expansion at Westbrook

South Shore Children's Center of West Islip seeks use of a closed bathroom, offers to do $22,000 renovation.

A tenant leasing space in the shuttered Westbrook Elementary School is asking the West Islip School District about renting an additional closed bathroom and closet area in exchange for a lease revamp as it's offering to do the needed $22,000 in renovations, according to district officials.

The South Shore Children’s Center of West Islip wants to use a former bathroom, where fixtures were removed many years ago, according to school officials. The bathroom area is 128 square feet and the request includes partial use of a supply closet, about 64 square feet, according to school officials.

Leasing the additional space would bring in $9,120 in rent over the almost five-year remainder of the current lease, say school officials, but the gain would be offset by the renovation expense. 

“At the end of this five-year term, a charge for the space will be negotiated into future leases,” School Superintendent Bernadette M. Burns told Patch in an email. 

If the proposal is approved the renovation would be done by a district-approved contractor according to district specifications, said Burns.

The proposal has ignited discussion on a Patch community board and is expected to be a public topic of discussion at Thursday’s board meeting. The meeting starts at 8 p.m. at the high school.

“The public has the right to comment on any board agenda item or other item as it relates to the governance of the school district,” said Burns in response to a question regarding whether the proposal will be the subject of a public hearing at the meeting. The district has posted Thursday’s meeting agenda here and school officials state it is on the agenda to be discussed.

The Patch board comments have included questions regarding a board member’s relationship to the South Shore Children’s Center. Board member Annmarie LaRosa is a former business associate of Helene Tsouprakos, the director of the South Shore Children’s Center in West Islip. 

According to Burns, LaRosa and Tsouprakos have dissolved their partnership, and LaRosa has abstained from votes relating to the lease with South Shore Children’s Center.

The school is just one of several businesses leasing space at Westbrook and Kirdahy, another elementary school closed by the district in June, 2012. 

At a Town of Islip Planning Board hearing in October, 2012 regarding potential tenants for the buildings, the district’s lawyer stated the district was not interested in major alterations as part of any leasing agreement.


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