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ROTTERDAM
Charter school, vets vie to use Draper building
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    A new charter school is looking to go into the old Draper School, which could derail a plan by the Disabled American Veterans to renovate the property into apartments for disabled combat veterans.
    Eximius Academy last week formally submitted its application to the New York State Education Department to open in the fall of 2012. If approved, school offi cials plan to start with about 86 students in kindergarten and 82 in fi rst grade. They would add a new kindergarten class each year until the school eventually goes from kindergarten to fifth grade, according to Pam Swanigan, spokeswoman for the organization.
    The property has been vacant since the former International Charter School of Schenectady closed in 2008 after its charter wasn’t renewed by the state.
    Swanigan said Eximius Education Foundation, the fi nancial backers of the charter school, signed a contract with First Niagara Bank in March. The charter school plans to lease the space from the foundation.
    Thomas Reiter, the Disabled American Veterans’ state representative and the junior vice commander of the department in New York, said his organization still wants the building. He said town and county officials have both been very supportive of the veterans’ proposal, but declined to discuss the ongoing negotiations for the property.
    “We’re still interested in it,” he said. “But I can’t discuss it.”
    Eximius is in the process of getting estimates on costs for renovating and fixing some minor vandalism, according to Swanigan. “We don’t expect it to be too much,” she said.
    Swanigan said the effort to start the school came about through a grass-roots group of people.
    The lead applicant and proposed board member is Karim Adeen-Hasan, chief diversity officer at the Office of General Services.
    Other board members include Schenectady Councilman Joseph Allen; Wes Holloway, vice president for diversity at Price Chopper; Michael Clay, an employee at the state Dormitory Authority; and James Celestine, an investment officer at the state Comptroller’s Office. Swanigan is listed as a school employee as is Lori Veshia, who served as business administrator for the International Charter School of Schenectady, according to Eximius’ application.
    The school is targeting economically disadvantaged students, according to Swanigan.
    “There was a number of parents who expressed an interest in having an option, having an alternative to the current system because the African-American students and Hispanic student graduation rate are much, much lower than others,” she said.
    Eximius, which means extraordinary in Latin, would feature a longer day with students arriving at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast and participating in structured after-school activities and homework help from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Students would also be in school for close to 200 days. School officials are also planning a five- or six-week summer academy. ................................>>>>..............................>>>>......................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01000&AppName=1

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  Swanigan said Eximius Education Foundation, the financial backers of the charter school, signed a contract with First Niagara Bank in March. The charter school plans to lease the space from the foundation.

First Niagara apparently still owns that property and is leasing it to the charter school now. This means the Veterans will have to look for a new location.

Quoted from bumblethru

First Niagara apparently still owns that property and is leasing it to the charter school now. This means the Veterans will have to look for a new location.

I don't know what happened to the Veteran's Apartment Project, but it would seem that this has to come before the Town for another public hearing.  I know many of the residents were not happy with the last charter school there.

Would it need another public hearing?  It's already been a charter school & school ... it's the same purpose, so no change of zoning would be needed ..

Quoted from 147

Would it need another public hearing?  It's already been a charter school & school ... it's the same purpose, so no change of zoning would be needed ..

       Wasn't the outcome of the Veteran's Project a zone change and Comp Plan amendment?  So wouldn't this require a new public hearing?  If a Resolution has been passed for a prior project, doesn't it go back to square one again?

It might Avon ... was the zone change ever completed?  

During the organizational meeting in January, FDG stated his accomplishments for the past year...housing for the Veterans was on the list.  Sounds like he might need to update his list !!

Quoted from 147

It might Avon ... was the zone change ever completed?  

        Hard to say, as we all know, they change zoning like you shuffle cards . . . .

The people in that area were not please to see Draper become a school again (charter. However, I think they will be hard pressed to make the same argument  as it was once/twice a school already.

It may possibly have been a huge undertaking to transform that school building into apts for the vets. And the government is broke, so where they would get the $$$ would be an issue.

Perhaps this lease with First Niagra has contingencies for zoning approval if in can, will and needs to be changed.

this is a job for none other than..........


Donald Zee

Oh boy,
The last time they tried this is was a godawful mess.....
WHO wants to buy a house...    nice  4 bdrm  bungalo needs some TLC and cosmetic touches but otherwise a fine structure
100K

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Mission
The mission of the Eximius Academy Charter School is to prepare economically disadvantaged and culturally diverse students from Schenectady in grades K-5 to master 21st Century knowledge, skills and abilities by achieving academic excellence, and demonstrating integrity, commitment and positive relationships to build the bedrock values for success. Eximius Academy will close the academic achievement gap by ensuring that all students meet and exceed NYS Common Core Standards and are firmly on the pathway to become accomplished lifelong learners.

Sounds like the last one with a new name

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ROTTERDAM
Charter school’s path is rocky
Getting approval of town likely to prove difficult
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    Eximius Academy may have a contract to purchase the former Draper School property, but getting Rotterdam’s approval to use the building for a charter school may not be easy.
    The proposed charter school could face an uphill battle for site plan approval because the International Charter School of Schenectady, which formerly occupied the building, failed to live up to provisions included in a “community host agreement” reached with the town in 2006. That agreement states that the now-defunct charter school needed to pay Rotterdam a fee for town services annually or face having its conditional site plan approval revoked.
    “And they defaulted,” Deputy Supervisor Robert Godlewski said.
    That means Eximius will need to face the same planning process as its predecessor, which faced strong objections from property owners living near Draper Avenue. ICSS received the necessary approvals in June 2005, but not without members of the Planning Commission issuing a set of two dozen conditions.
    The town also required ICSS to pay $25,000 annually, a sum meant to make up for the loss of tax revenue. The building was privately owned until the tax-exempt charter school used state funding to purchase it for $1.5 million in December 2005.
    The agreement included a default clause, which gave the town the ability to place the property back on the tax rolls if ICSS failed to make the necessary payment within 90 days. All approvals and other permits granted by the town would also be terminated upon default, according to the agreement.
    Town records show the Draper School property was placed back on the tax rolls and assessed a $21,000 bill in 2010. This year, the town mailed out a $91,000 bill to the property for its town levy, school taxes and an exemption removal. .................................>>>>.........................>>>>.....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00904&AppName=1

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Let charter school use one of Schalmont’s vacant buildings

    Re April 8 article, “Charter school, vets vie to use Draper building”: Months ago I read about the Disabled American Veterans [DAV] acquiring Draper School for conversion to housing [for disabled vets]. At last, we would not only have a much-needed facility but no longer attempt to ignore what had become an eyesore and embarrassment to the neighborhood.
    In January 2010, I received a letter from the DAV Department Adjutant which said, “As soon as all the pieces are in place, we will go forward. We are hard at work to make this building the first of 10 in New York.” What happened? According to your story, Eximius Academy formally submitted an application [for a charter school] to the state Education Department. Does that mean the DAV has done nothing in almost two years?
    I respect the charter school movement. I’m suggesting that other, appropriate properties are available so the school can thrive and our former military can have much-deserved housing, as well. For example, the Schalmont school district will not be using Mariaville and Woestina elementary schools this September. Wouldn’t it be more cost-effective for the charter school to move into a facility that has not been vacant for three years and even then only partially used?
    It seems to me starting off with 168 students in Draper leaves many square feet of unused space. If the International Charter School of Schenectady couldn’t sustain its presence, what makes this attempt viable?
    We benefit when our children succeed. We owe our veterans for making success possible.

    ANNIE WILSON
    Rotterdam

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r03203&AppName=1

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In January 2010, I received a letter from the DAV Department Adjutant which said, “As soon as all the pieces are in place, we will go forward. We are hard at work to make this building the first of 10 in New York.” What happened?

Perhaps with all of the fed/state budget cuts......there is NO money to move this forward. This should have been a done deal months and months ago with the DAV. Obviously they didn't even make it to the bank yet.

I would suggest contacting the person/dept who sent you that letter and ask them 'what happened'?