Year in review: Riverhead Charter School hits milestones amid opposition

Creating expansion plans, celebrating its first-ever graduating class and facing ongoing tensions with the public, the Riverhead Charter School made headlines frequently this year.

The persistent feud between the Riverhead Central School District, Riverhead Charter School and other charter school opponents has been ongoing since the school’s inception in 2001. The Riverhead district’s argument has remained the same: The charter school siphons money  away from RCSD on a cost-per-pupil basis.

On Nov. 30, 2023, the charter school’s board approved the use of $4.5 million from its reserve fund for the purchase of two properties on Sound Avenue: a vacant 12.3-acre parcel that would be used for the construction of a new school building and outdoor athletic facilities, as well as a 59.5-acre property on preserved farmland that could accommodate agricultural education programs.

The bid was met with major backlash from Riverhead residents and school district educators, eventually prompting the charter school board to withdraw its development application in March.

In May, a Riverhead Town Board public hearing meant to discuss several items in the pending Comprehensive Plan Update was effectively derailed by opponents of a single proposal in the plan: permitting private schools — including charter schools — in industrially zoned districts. 

The critics argued that if the Town Board adopted this change, any special permit granted to the Riverhead Charter School for construction on industrially zoned land would permanently remove that parcel from the tax rolls. Others expressed concern about how increased charter school enrollment would impact the Riverhead Central School District.

In June, just a week after dozens of community members and educators spoke out against this proposal, the Riverhead Town Board announced its decision to nix the proposition entirely.

In total, the charter school expected 165 students plus 24 adult staffers at the high school this year and sought to install temporary trailers at its Sound Avenue campus to deal with the growing enrollment numbers. The lease for that building expires in six years, and the school’s goal is to eventually move from  that location. The town’s decision on the permits is still pending. 

Meanwhile, charter school officials have discussed building a high school, middle school and athletic fields at the school’s newly acquired $4.1 million 13.7-acre property in Calverton. This is the fourth property in five years that the Riverhead Charter School has been in negotiations to purchase.

Superintendent Raymond Ankrum 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.

The 2023-24 academic year was a historic one, as 13 seniors made history as part of Riverhead Charter High School’s first-ever graduating class — and all will be attending four-year colleges and universities in the fall. All the seniors graduated on time and were accepted into four-year colleges. More than $5 million in scholarship funds were offered to the RCS graduates as well.

With 26 seniors expected to graduate from the charter school next year, high school principal Patrick McKinney and high school dean Terrell Dozier are working on building their alumni support services program to further guide their students on how they can apply what they learned at the charter school in the post-grad world.

ORIGINAL REPORTING BY ANA BORRUTO.