The Mamaroneck Union Free School District oversees a school population that is both ethnically and economically diverse. Over the past ten years, this population has grown by about 16 percent to a total enrollment of approximately 5,000, while the number of District residents living under the poverty line has grown from 10 to 22 percent and is climbing.
Despite these challenges, District leaders remain committed to educating students to the best of their ability so that these kids find meaningful learning and feel a sense of connection. They also want to maintain equity in the schools so that all students, regardless of financial means, have an opportunity to succeed.
But the District must find a way to overcome a daunting problem: severe school overcrowding due to a lack of physical space. An expansion of programming—Universal Pre-K, for example—using readily available state funding is not feasible since a lack of land to build desperately needed classrooms and athletic facilities has left District leaders with no other option but to maintain the status quo.
This baseline reality is particularly evident at Hommocks Middle School, which brings together students from four elementary schools. Hommocks clearly lacks sufficient academic and recreational space, forcing the District to consider increasing class sizes with reliance on municipalities to provide fields for children to play on during recess.
Compounding the problem is Former Mayor Tom Murphy’s recent decision to change the zoning on three buildings in the Village of Mamaroneck to accommodate affordable housing. While there is certainly a need for this in Mamaroneck, Mr. Murphy’s actions will flood the schools with even more students, creating even more space problems and crowded classrooms in the foreseeable future. Equally important is the question of who will pay for the needs of the kids moving in. Mamaroneck Schools’ expenditures per student is $24,000. By comparison, the Scarsdale School District spends nearly $40,000. When residents move into Mamaroneck, they still hold the School District to the standards of Scarsdale.
Put simply, you can’t support additional housing while at the same time refusing to support the District’s desire to expand to manage a significant increase in the school population. Our Municipalities should be in lockstep with the schools, but sadly, our Village officials are at odds with the schools.
Incredulously, Mr. Murphy believed that the school District didn’t need any more space and that it had sufficient capacity for more students. His position is misguided.
Unwilling to meet this fate, the District is determined to explore creative solutions to remain relevant and a place where people want to move and raise their families.
In 2022, the Mamaroneck Schools administration approached Hampshire Recreation to discuss the possibility of a donation of land to benefit Hommocks School, which is adjacent to Hampshire Country Club. This free land would solve many problems all at once.
First, it would enable the District to add a separate building to accommodate 5th and 6th graders. The fifth graders would come from each elementary school, and the sixth graders from the existing Hommocks Middle School. Second, it would free up space for Pre-K and reduce class sizes across the District. Third, it would provide much-needed sports fields and tennis courts. And lastly, it would improve parking and traffic circulation around Hommocks Middle School.
Hampshire’s openness to a land transfer is consistent with its longstanding support of the school district. However, this is viable only if Hampshire obtains final and unappealable zoning amendments and other approvals from the Village for its original low-rise multifamily condo plan originally presented in 2013. Any conveyance of land would render Hampshire’s as-of-right 105-unit single-family and carriage home plan unfeasible, which is why Hampshire conditioned the land transfer on approval of the original condo plan.
Since Mamaroneck Schools first approached Hampshire regarding a potential land transfer, Hampshire has not pressured Mamaroneck Schools to convince the Board of Trustees to change the zoning to allow for Hampshire’s condo development. As former Mamaroneck Superintendent of Schools Robert Shaps stated when interviewed by Lohud.com, “We are just saying that if the project were to move forward, we would get the gift of land. To represent our interests, we agreed to engage in the memorandum of understanding. As a district, we have space challenges. If given the opportunity to get a gift of land, we would accept it.”
Both sides fully recognize that this MOU would only come to fruition if Village officials reconsidered their position on development at Hampshire. When the MOU came into the public eye, Former Mayor Murphy remained determined to prevent Hampshire from developing anything on its residentially zoned property, providing strong support for Hampshire’s $58.1MM takings claim that has already cost the Village taxpayers hundreds of thousands in legal fees. Murphy’s Myths
Hampshire is encouraged by the growing chorus of Village residents and school district stakeholders who see how this potential land transfer benefits the broader Larchmont/Mamaroneck community.
“I wish we could get that land [for the school district] for when my grandkids come over and we could walk over to those fields. And you should note I would not care if those condos were built. I live way, way, way, away. If it were a choice between the 105 homes and the condos, I would say to you in an instant the condos are right.”
Celia Felsher, at the Mamaroneck School Board Public Q&A Session held on 6/13/2023.
