Quoted Text

City's new schools buck state trend
Schenectady seeking K-6 building for growing population even as other cities lose students to suburban districts  
  
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer
First published: Monday, October 1, 2007

SCHENECTADY -- The city school district, for the first time in decades, is opening new schools in order to deal with an enrollment increase that has crept up on them over the last 17 years.
    
The district just opened a kindergarten-only school, and it will hold a vote Oct. 9 to get approval for $1.6 million in renovations to convert a former Catholic school into a new city K-6 school next year.

Bucking statewide trends in urban districts, Schenectady's annual enrollment has grown by 2,000 students since 1990, more than 500 of them entering the schools in the last five years.

Growth in urban school districts in upstate New York is an anomaly, as inner cities continue to lose population to growing suburbs. Both the Albany and Troy school districts have slowly lost students over the last five years. Albany said many of its students have moved to one of its nine charter schools.

"(City school districts) seem to be closing buildings rather than opening buildings," said Barbara Bradley, acting communications director of the New York State School Boards Association.

But relatively inexpensive housing and a growing immigrant population, particularly natives of the South American country Guyana, since about 2000, are likely the biggest contributors to Schenectady's growth, said city school Superintendent Eric Ely. Diversity is rich, with around 27 different languages spoken among its students. Utica city schools also say their enrollment is stable because of immigrant groups moving to the area.

Schenectady and Saratoga County's Shenendehowa school district are currently in the running for largest school districts in the Capital Region.

"We're starting to see available housing and younger families moving in," Ely said.

Overall population increase in the city hasn't been reflected in recent census estimates, said Leif Engstrom, program manager with the Capital District Regional Planning Commission. But that's likely because former vacant houses and multiple-unit house addresses haven't been accounted for. Engstrom said it will be vital for Schenectady to update those addresses with census officials to get credit for the population they've likely gained in the last 10 years, Engstrom said.

The increase in students has largely been accommodated by increasing class sizes across grade levels. But as some elementary classrooms were slated to hold 30 students each, another solution had to be found, school officials said.

Second-grade teacher Michelle Battaglia said she had 28 students in her class at Van Corlaer Elementary two years ago. She said the higher number made it almost impossible to split kids into smaller groups based on their skills. Some higher-level kids got bored, while some children who needed more help became confused. Large group instruction also affected participation.

"We would do math games, and they would be less likely to take risks if 25 pairs of eyes were staring at them," Battaglia said.

The teacher now has 18 students in her second-grade class, thanks to the creation of a fourth second-grade class at Van Corlaer this year.

The new K-6 school residents are voting on would involve leasing the old St. Luke's School building, at 1252 Albany St., from the Albany Catholic Diocese. The cost is $180,000 for the first five years, with increases based on the consumer price index after that. Ely said some of the buildings the district used in the past are long gone.
The Schenectady school district expects to be paid 97 percent of the lease's cost by the state, and says it has budgeted the rest for the next five years of payments. The district must also add handicap ramps, restrooms, rescue windows and an elevator at a cost of $1.6 million. State reimbursement will be 90 percent on that cost. Again, the district said taxpayers shouldn't see an increase from the expense.

But how residents will be affected by taxes in the future is a concern, since projections show that enrollment will grow by at least another 500 kids there in the next 10 years. It doesn't help that Schenectady residents pay some of the heftiest taxes in the region. The school district's tax is currently $31.61 per $1,000 assessed valuation.

"We appreciate the support we have received from taxpayers over the last few years," Ely said. "We don't take that for granted."

As for how the district will fill the new school, Ely promises students will not be forced to move from schools they're already attending. The projected enrollment of about 400 students will be filled by new kids coming to the district in 2008-2009, as well as families who choose to transfer their children there. The new school is roughly in the middle of the district, so school officials don't foresee any long bus rides for new students.

School vote

* WHAT: Schenectady City School District vote on opening a new K-6 elementary school on Albany Street in a former Catholic school building.

* WHEN: 12 to 9 p.m. Oct. 9.

* WHERE: For a list of polling places, go to http://www.schenectady.k12.ny.us/leasevote/votinginfo.htm or call 370-8100, Ext. 150