Parents: We Nixed Merger of Salk School With Larger School in West Village

Parents appealed to their local community board over the future of a popular East 20th Street public school this month, after concern that an incoming class-size-reduction mandate could eventually force it to merge with a larger school in the West Village.

The parent group claims that they have already prevented one merger proposal, which the Department of Education had not confirmed as of press time. After rumblings emerged that the Salk School of Science might end up being integrated into 75 Morton, a middle school in the West Village, residents with kids attending Salk were outraged and blasted the proposed move. Now they say the merger talk has been scuttled.

In a letter written to Community Board 6, the parents touted the reportedly positive outcome: “The proposed merger . . . was met with overwhelming opposition (97% of families), leading to the merger’s suspension,” they wrote. “As it stands now, there are no longer any current plans to merge Salk with 75 Morton or any other school.

“However, uncertainty about Salk’s future location continues to threaten its stability and location,” the letter continued. The parent group therefore had a few asks of the community board: “secure a suitable location” for Salk within the community board’s boundaries, “affirm Salk’s long-term presence in the neighborhood,” and “draft a resolution that helps accomplish these important goals.”

The parents’ pride over having their children attend Salk is not unusual, given its reputation as what they describe as “a model of possible achievement for public education.”

Their letter points out that the school is a National Blue Ribbon and Motif Award-winning school, with a fairly tight-knit student body of 360 students; 300 prospective students are currently on a waiting list. They also advertise that the superintendent for Salk’s school district, Kelly McGuire, has called it the “top-performing” school in the area.

Yet this has clearly not assuaged local concern that a state class-size-reduction law, which passed in 2022 and is supposed to cover all NYC classrooms by 2028, will eventually present hurdles for maintaining the status quo at Salk.

The average class size at Salk is usually above the 20-to-25-student cap specified in the law, after all. As of now, a total of 60 percent of NYC classrooms are supposed to be covered by the law, with Chalkbeat reporting that the Adams administration has boasted of making this year’s cut—only after exempting thousands of seats.

It seems that Salk may be relying on such exemptions, at least for now, to preserve its future as a standalone school. At a CB6 subcommittee meeting on Nov. 18, a representative for Salk expressed optimism that they wouldn’t be under the gun anytime soon. “Because this school is successful as it is, with 30 kids [per room] . . . we are not really the focus, or the priority, to implement the law,” she said.

The representative also noted that various parents, and officials, were not necessarily against the reduction mandate per se. “There’s one school of thought that says ‘We’d like to be competitive,’ ” she added, namely by providing options to parents who seek out the smaller classes spurred on by the law.

Studies have demonstrated that smaller class sizes come with genuine educational benefits for students, although the extent of that benefit is a matter of debate.

A uniform theme among Salk students and Salk parents, however, is that they really do appreciate the school. One parent, who spoke after the school representative at the Nov. 18 CB6 meeting, noted that she has had a “good experience” sending her daughter there. “The small school size implied that there would be a little bit more intimacy in terms of discussions with teachers and staff,” she said.

At an earlier CB6 meeting held this month, a sixth-grader attending Salk showed up to voice her opposition to a merger. “Salk is such an incredible school, and such an incredible community,” Theodore J. Oaks said. “It offers something for everyone. . . . Merging it would just take away what we love about our school.”