Town Board Authorizes Appraisal Of Gittelman School Property (VIDEO)

The Clarkstown Town Board voted unanimously on Tuesday night to authorize the town attorney to get an appraisal of the property.  On January 10, the school’s board of trustees announced to staff and parents that the school would close because of decreasing enrollment.  Trustees indicated there were ongoing discussions with potential buyers.

Town Councilwoman Stephanie Hausner, who introduced the resolution to obtain the appraisal, said town representatives have spoken with members of Gittelman’s board.  She expects the appraisal to be completed soon.

“I think they’re looking to move fairly quickly,” she said.  “We just want to get the appraisal done so we know if it’s even a reality for us to be interested in.” 

The 43,000 square foot building sits on 10.1 acres along New Hempstead Road in New City.  The building was constructed in two phases. The main section was completed in 1992 and the middle school was added about 10 years ago.  

Hausner said one possible use of the building and property could be as a recreation center, an idea put forward by Town Supervisor Alex Gromack last week.  Town board members George Hoehmann and Frank Borelli said they were very interested in the possibility of acquiring the property for Clarkstown. 

The Conservative Jewish day was founded 40 years ago as the Solomon Schechter School of Rockland County.  It first held classes in Spring Valley and when it outgrew that location moved to the current building in New City.  The last day of classes at the school for the 150 pre-kindergarten through eighth grade students is June 20.

With the pending closure of the county's only non-Orthodox Jewish day school, organizers have been working on a proposed Jewish day school called the Rockland Jewish Academy. The Academy would be supervised by the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester and would be located at the Rockland Jewish Community Campus in West Nyack.