Leading off today: Citing a shaky financial footing, historic Lawrence Woodmere Academy in southern Nassau County officials will not conduct classes in the upcoming school year.
In a letter sent to families on July 17, the school revealed projected revenue would not cover operating expenses, creating the possibility that the school would have to shut down before the completion of the school year, the Long Island Herald reported.
"With a heavy heart, the Board of Directors has made the incredibly difficult decision not to open Lawrence Woodmere Academy for the 2025-26 academic year," the letter stated.
The letter stated that the administration is treating the closure as temporary.
The private school, which traces its history to 1891 as Lawrence Country Day School, has been a basketball contender in recent years. Playing a national schedule this past winter, the LWA "Blue" squad went 15-5. The LWA "White" team was 9-9 against primarily New York competition.
According to Newsday, tuition at the preschool through 12th grade school topped out this year at $30,500.
Shanahan steps down from John Glenn football
Dave Shanahan two-phase retirement plan will kick into effect this fall with the news that longtime assistant TJ Brocking will replace him as the head football coach at John Glenn.
Shanahan, 56, will remain at the school for a 10th and final year as the athletic director and Brocking will continue in his role as the head wrestling coach, Newsday reported.
"John Glenn is a great place, and I just want to always leave a place better than I found it," Shanahan told Newsday. "I'm very thankful for the career I had here, the people I've met and the impacts on my life. The students have had a great impact and made a difference in my life. I cherished every moment. The Elwood community has been great to me."
Shanahan's football teams went 181-98-2 in 30 seasons with a pair of Suffolk IV division championships and Long Island Class IV titles in 2010 and 2011.
Continuity at West Genesee
Longtime distance-running assistant Molly O'Keefe has been elevated to head coach of the boys and girls cross country teams at West Genesee,
Syracuse.com reported.
She replaces Jim Vermeulen, who was dropped after 38 years running the program.
O'Keefe has worked as an assistant to Vermeulen in cross country and as an assistant with the school's indoor and outdoor track teams.
"Cross country has always been one of my favorite sports to coach, being able to watch students kind of learn how to achieve their personal best, the individual part of the sport, basically watching when student-athletes can learn how they work hard and what that does for their success," she told the website.
Vermeulen, who said he intended to retire after this fall, endorsed the appointment.
"I'm glad she's doing it," he said. "It's hard to find cross country coaches who are really into cross country. It's probably been that way forever. Basically, she's been familiar with everything I've been doing and she understands all the theories of training, and she's listened to me ad nauseam about a lot of that stuff."
Coming up
We will announce the Kerr Cup All-Sport Championship results for the recently completed school year on Monday afternoon, unveiling a first-time overall champion.
We also have tentatively scheduled the release of the New York State Sportswriters Association all-state team in girls lacrosse for Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, work continues on the all-state selections for boys lacrosse and for NYSPHSAA baseball. We'll hopefully be posting both of those before the end of the month.
