The Mineola school district will finalize the addition of a $4.25 million commercial property on Friday, according to the district.
The scheduled closing follows an October community referendum that overwhelmingly approved the purchase in order to expand the high school campus.
Sitting at 2400 Jericho Turnpike in Garden City Park, the property sits adjacent to Mineola High School. Formerly, the building was the home of Sperry Associates Federal Credit Union, which was acquired by Pentagon Federal Credit Union after a September 2020 merger.
Following the closing, the next step will be filing for building approval with the New York State Education Department.
According to the district, a new program, Synergy, will take place on the property and serve as an innovative method of learning.
In a Q&A with Deputy Superintendent Matthew Gaven on YouTube, Superintendent Michael Nagler went over the benefits he sees with the property.
Nagler said the Synergy program will focus on individualizing education for students in a way that keeps up with the rate of technology expanding.
“We’re trying to really capture what current students go through when they go to school,” Nagler said. “School should be a place where you follow the love of learning and not grudgingly take classes because you have to.”
The program will focus on innovating the learning structure outside of traditional 40-minute periods.
Taxpayers will experience no rise in costs as a result of the closing.
Undesignated fund balance monies, otherwise known as the district’s surplus, will be used to finance the purchase. Nagler said previously the district hired an independent appraiser for the 1.5-acre property, which was valued at $4.25 million.
Any associated costs with the purchase will be outlined in the next budget, Nagler said. Added revenue will come from assuming a lease with Verizon for cell towers atop the building.
Shortly after the referendum, Nagler said from his Twitter account, “We are rethinking and reconceptualizing how to prepare our learners for life in the rapidly changing 21st century.”
