William A. Shine Great Neck South High School - Campus History and School Facilities

Campus History and School Facilities

In 1949 the School District acquired the 124-acre (0.50 km2) South complex in Lake Success from the former estate of Henry Phipps, Jr., steelmaster and one-time partner of Andrew Carnegie. His mansion and 9 acres (36,000 m2) were gifted to the district by the Phipps heirs and is now the Phipps Administration Building. The rest of the property was purchased for $279,000. In 1957, South High School was built on property surrounding the administration building. When the estate was donated, there was a stipulation that part of it be kept in its natural state. That condition was met during construction.

In 1958, Great Neck Senior High School was renamed Great Neck North High School to differentiate it from the district's new Great Neck South High School. Prior to 1979, Great Neck South High School included Grades 10 through 12. But in 1980, Grade 9 was added to the high school. Today the school has 75 classrooms. In 2006, the school was renamed to honor Dr. William A. Shine for his respected status that he had to the Great Neck School District.

In 1980 Great Neck South added the 9th grade. As of 1988 Great Neck South has open campus privileges. Great Neck South has more restrictions on its open campus than Great Neck North. Rona Telsey, a spokesperson for the district, said that while Great Neck North is near a major shopping center, Great Neck South is further away. In addition, she said that a student would need to use a car to go off-campus for lunch. Prior to 1980, all students had open campus. In 1980, the school decided that younger students at Great Neck needed more restrictions than older students. Beginning in 1980, only 11th and 12th graders at Great Neck South had open campus privileges.