Riverhead Charter School eyes Calverton property for new high school

The Riverhead Charter School is in the final stages of acquiring a 13.7-acre parcel of land located at 4314 Middle Country Road in Calverton to construct a new high school, according to a news release.

Charter School Superintendent Raymond Ankrum confirmed the involved parties are currently ironing out the contract terms on a roughly $4.1 million price. The execution of this contract was unanimously approved by the charter school board back in July.

The charter school is eyeing the front part of the acreage for the school building — close to where J&R’s Steakhouse resides — which would need to be subdivided, the superintendent said.

The property lies within the Rural Corridor (RLC) Zoning Use District, which allows for educational uses, according to the Riverhead Town code. By definition, this zone allows for a “limited range of roadside shops and services that are compatible with the agricultural and rural setting along major arterial roads, such as New York State Route 25.”

This is the fourth property in five years that the Riverhead Charter School has been in negotiations to purchase, the news release stated. The school recently dropped an earlier plan to expand its high school on 12.3 acres on Sound Avenue due to public opposition and town zoning concerns.

The charter school had previously identified another property for potential development, but the Town Board nixed a proposition to allow private schools — including charter schools — on industrial-zoned land. 

Charter school officials are seeking a special permit approval to install three, 960-square-foot temporary trailers to address capacity issues at the Sound Avenue hight school campus. The lease for that building is up in six years and at a public hearing on the trailer request Tuesday night, Mr. Ankrum said the school’s goal is to eventually move out of that location.

“We understand that there has been some local contention between charter schools and traditional public schools in the area, which has been exacerbated by local media coverage,” Mr. Ankrum said in the press release. “As a result, we have adopted a ‘keep things close to the vest’ approach to our land acquisition efforts. We are now excited to be able to share this positive news with our community.”

In total, the charter school is expecting 165 students plus 24 adult staffers at the high school this year and are looking to install the temporary trailers to deal with the growing enrollment numbers.

The superintendent previously said he anticipates further growth over the next six years, assuming most students will seek to complete their K-12 education at the charter school. This could mean up to 363 students enrolled in the charter high school by the 2029-30 academic year.

Mr. Ankrum said the new high school will provide state-of-the-art facilities and resources for students in grades 9-12.

“We are committed to providing our students with the best possible education, the new high school will allow us to do that, ” Mr. Ankrum said. “We are excited about the future of RCS and the positive impact that this new school will have on our community.”