Quoted Text

SCHENECTADY
Former DSS site may be home of charter school
Public hearing slated for Wednesday
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.

    A group seeking to start up a Schenectady charter school has identified the former Department of Social Services building as a possible location.
    Eximius Academy Charter School officials say in their application they are working with an architect on possibly using the 487 Nott St. building, which has been vacant since DSS moved to Broadway in 2009. The Galesi Group owns the building. David Buicko, chief operating officer for the company, was unavailable for comment Friday.
    The structure needs renovations, including being made handicapped accessible and other maintenance issues.
    A public hearing on the charter school proposal will be held on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of Mont Pleasant Middle School immediately before the Schenectady Board of Education meeting. People are invited to comment on the proposal but must register, and written comments can be submitted via email to Schenectady Board of Education Clerk David Weiser at weiserd@schenectady.k12.ny.us
    Board of Education President Cathy Lewis said the district received a letter from the New York State Education Department in late August that the charter school application had been submitted and it was required to hold a hearing.
    Advocates have been trying to establish a new charter school for the past two years. In April 2011, Eximius formally submitted its application to the state for approval. At the time, the intended site was the former Draper School in Rotterdam, which was also home to the International Charter School of Schenectady from 2005 to 2008. It closed in June 2008 when the school’s charter wasn’t renewed.
    However, the Disabled American Veterans plan to convert the building into apartments. Eximius studied other potential sites, including the 10,000-square-foot vacant Capital Region Maritime Center, but it wasn’t big enough for their needs. In May, it formally withdrew its application and said it would resubmit at a later time.
    Eximius was not listed on the New York State Education Department website as a charter school seeking approvals. However, a copy of the application is on Schenectady school district’s website.
    The school would start its fi rst year with 156 kindergarten and first-grade students and add 78 kindergarten students every year until it is a K-5 school, according to the application. Eximius would stress a science, math, engineering and technology (STEM) because of the high-tech jobs in the area with a hands-on curriculum and “capstone” projects at the end of each unit to allow students to use what they’ve learned on real world problems.
    It would have extended days of 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday. There would be a 190-day school year and a four-week summer program for struggling students. ..................>>>>.....................................>>>>................................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01001&AppName=1

Good idea    Especially after reading how the other kindergartens in the city are maxed out.  Just wondering thogh,
who would pay for renovations?

The charter school will probably get some of that free money that the Fed is printing.

Great idea since this was a former school. Gee I thought Death Ray had "plans" for a shopping center on this  
site? lol.

Quoted from benny salami

Great idea since this was a former school. Gee I thought Death Ray had "plans" for a shopping center on this  
site? lol.

I always thought Union College was going to use this facility, no?

Quoted from 1975

I always thought Union College was going to use this facility, no?

There had been talk that someone was planning a "boutique hotel" for the building.  Apparently that never materialized.

I remain opposed to charter schools for the reasons that I have stated previously:
    they receive tax dollars without actually being accountable to the taxpayers - taxpayers can't elect any of their board members and taxpayers can't vote to approve or disapprove their budgets.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

    they receive tax dollars without actually being accountable to the taxpayers - taxpayers can't elect any of their board members and taxpayers can't vote to approve or disapprove their budgets.

You know there are countless bureaucracies in NYS run by faceless bureaucrats right?  Metroplex being one.  If I had more time, I would list many more.

I oppose charter schools too(not in favor of public schools), just not for the same reasons.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

I remain opposed to charter schools for the reasons that I have stated previously:
    they receive tax dollars without actually being accountable to the taxpayers - taxpayers can't elect any of their board members and taxpayers can't vote to approve or disapprove their budgets.

Really? And the current system unable to graduate half the students is accountable to whom?

Make Schenectady a union free district....it'll save the taxpayers billions and maybe, just maybe, the district can focus on the students, not the lifetime health benefits or 2.8% annual wage increase.

Schenectady needs a middle/high charter school. That's where they're failing.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

I remain opposed to charter schools for the reasons that I have stated previously:
    they receive tax dollars without actually being accountable to the taxpayers - taxpayers can't elect any of their board members and taxpayers can't vote to approve or disapprove their budgets.

First of all, why do YOU worrry about it because YOU are NOT a taxpayers anyway.

Now, how about the taxpayers voting on the board members of the Catholic schools and the superintendent?   You DO know, don't' you, that Catholic schools DO get taxpayer money.   The text books have been provided by the taxpayers, oh, that's right you are not and never will be a dad (or a mom) so you don't know how families with children in Catholic schools don't pay their own textbooks, they are provided courtesy of the taxpayers.   And there are the meals funded by the taxpayers.   And don't forget the transportation.  And they take the same standardized tests.  And they also have students who receive extra help courtesy of the taxpayers.

Now, tell us, on the use of taxpayer money, tell us when do we (we who DO pay taxes) vote on the Metroplex budgets?   When do we vote on giving our tax dollars to millionaires and billionaires.   Look at the homeowners in the city, they can't even afford to fix up their homes (and then get cited for code violations), but tell us DV, tell us WHEN to the homeowners in the city go to the polling places and vote to approve or disapprove the spending of tax money to build or renovate buildings downtown.  

Hell, DV, Proctors has received tens of MILLIONs of dollars, tell us DV, WHEN is the day that the homeowners in the city went to the polling place to vote on giving Morris a lavish salary, a salary much more than the position of Governor of the state yet he has far less responsbility than the governor?  Tell us DV, please provide us the date when the taxpayers went to the polls to vote yes or no on the spending of their tax dollars on gold ceilings?   When was that DV?????

Well?    Answer?  

Quoted from mikechristine1

First of all, why do YOU worrry about it because YOU are NOT a taxpayers anyway.

Now, how about the taxpayers voting on the board members of the Catholic schools and the superintendent?   You DO know, don't' you, that Catholic schools DO get taxpayer money.   The text books have been provided by the taxpayers, oh, that's right you are not and never will be a dad (or a mom) so you don't know how families with children in Catholic schools don't pay their own textbooks, they are provided courtesy of the taxpayers.   And there are the meals funded by the taxpayers.   And don't forget the transportation.  And they take the same standardized tests.  And they also have students who receive extra help courtesy of the taxpayers.

Now, tell us, on the use of taxpayer money, tell us when do we (we who DO pay taxes) vote on the Metroplex budgets?   When do we vote on giving our tax dollars to millionaires and billionaires.   Look at the homeowners in the city, they can't even afford to fix up their homes (and then get cited for code violations), but tell us DV, tell us WHEN to the homeowners in the city go to the polling places and vote to approve or disapprove the spending of tax money to build or renovate buildings downtown.  

Hell, DV, Proctors has received tens of MILLIONs of dollars, tell us DV, WHEN is the day that the homeowners in the city went to the polling place to vote on giving Morris a lavish salary, a salary much more than the position of Governor of the state yet he has far less responsbility than the governor?  Tell us DV, please provide us the date when the taxpayers went to the polls to vote yes or no on the spending of their tax dollars on gold ceilings?   When was that DV?????

Well?    Answer?  

I think you're one of the people he's blocking, mikechristine1 - he likely won't see your question, so I copied it for him so he would.

Quoted from CICERO

You know there are countless bureaucracies in NYS run by faceless bureaucrats right?  Metroplex being one.  If I had more time, I would list many more.

I oppose charter schools too(not in favor of public schools), just not for the same reasons.

As for Metroplex, I have repeatedly said that I believe we don't need a separate UNELECTED board -- the County Legislature is directly elected by the people and is (or in theory should be) accountable directly to the people.   I wouldn't object if Metroplex were abolished tomorrow and the responsibility (and accountability) for economic development was placed back in the hands of the ELECTED officials-- the ones we can boot out or reelect depending on how well they do their jobs/

Quoted from rpforpres

Good idea    Especially after reading how the other kindergartens in the city are maxed out.  Just wondering thogh,
who would pay for renovations?

the Chicago teachers....

Quoted from senders

the Chicago teachers....

LOL.

July 15, 2011, 8:30am  

Ex-DSS building to become apartments

    SCHENECTADY — The Nott Street building that once housed the Schenectady County Department of Social Services has been saved from the wrecking ball.
    Instead, the Galesi Group will convert the former school, which dates to 1875, into corporate-style apartments.
    Galesi will lease the building from the Schenectady County Industrial Development Agency for $200,000 with an option to purchase. Schenectady County sold the building to the county IDA. The county announced the sale Thursday.
    The county relocated DSS operations from 487 Nott St. and Schaffer Heights on Nott Terrace to the former Schenectady International building at 797 Broadway, which Galesi owns. The county is renting the 47,000-square-foot building for about $16 million over 20 years, a cost of $16.99 per square foot. It has an option to buy the building after 10 years. The Broadway site also includes offices for the Youth Bureau, Veterans Services and the Schenectady Job Training Agency.
    After the county left the Nott Street site, the plan was to demolish the building. Galesi proposed building a medical center there at one point. In addition to redeveloping the building, Galesi has applied to the federal government to list the property on the National Register of Historic Places.
    Galesi developed the nearby Golub Corporate Headquarters and is currently redeveloping the former Alco site in Schenectady. The company is headquartered in Rotterdam.

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01500&AppName=1

  
Well, there is no record in the Schenectady Real property on-line tax database for 487 Nott.

Also, how much work has Galesi done to this property for the corporate style apartments?

Galesi couldn't find a sucker to back apartments...might as well find a sucker from the school district.