Statement By The Board Of Education On St. Paul's
Over the last several years the fate of the St. Paul's Property has been debated.
The Village Trustees are solely charged with that decision of how that property is to be used.
A decision, I understand, that is complicated and difficult.
The School District, as part of its routine planning, commissioned and received an updated demographic report last year. We received this report in early spring and discussed the contents at a public work session. Once the report is received by the Board of Education, it is a public document.
The demographer was aware that several areas in Garden City could be considered sites for redevelopment. The areas of re-development include:
What is referred to as the "P" zone,
The triangular property located between Stewart School and Roosevelt Field,
550 Stewart Ave. - the old Newsday Property,
The St. Paul's property.
The demographer informed us, as had previous demographers, that estimating the impact of such redevelopment on the school system was quite problematic due to the lack of details available about specific projects including:
Size of the units,
Number of units,
Type: rentals, condos, or town houses,
The number of bedrooms and bathrooms or other amenities,
A marketing plan indicating the segment of the population most likely to inhabit residences.
At the same time, the Board was aware that developers were working through the Village's process of obtaining permission to build housing on some of these sites. In the absence of firm data, however, the demographer could only provide a general guideline concerning the ratio of students to condominium units.
It is important to note that during my tenure on the Board of Education of eight years, the Village has not ever sought the school board's input on any development project. We know now that the property at 550 Stewart has now been approved for the re-development of approximately 25 town houses. We became aware of this by reading it in the Garden City News.
Specifically, in regard to the St. Paul's property, we are aware that informational meetings were held in recent weeks for community input on the project, and that the project continues to be refined.
Several residents have expressed concerns about the possibility that families with school-age children might become future residents at St. Paul's and the financial impact the current proposal for St. Paul's might have on the school district.
So the question is, where does the school board stand today?
We have our general guidelines from our demographer, and his report has already served us with accuracy. We have requested additional information from the Village so that we may plan for the education of any child that moves to Garden City. We have also provided the Village with our most recent demographic study, as we have done in the past.
I have received information stating that:
The Village has not done an independent analysis of school impact.
Avalon Bay conducted their own analysis of the situation and supplied it to the Mayor's Committee.
The Mayor's Committee has not directly requested recent demographic information from the school district.
In the most recent issue of the Garden City News, a full page advertisement was placed by Avalon Bay which stated that it was reviewed by the Mayor's committee for accuracy and entitled "How Many School Age Children at St. Paul's?"
The advertisement's title is somewhat misleading, since there are no children at St. Paul's now; any estimate of the number of children who would live there must be seen as just that: an estimate. In addition, we have no certain way of knowing the number of students who would attend private schools or the number who would require special services. Overall, however, we know that one of most consistent reasons families seek housing in our community is the high quality of the public school system. Accordingly, it is reasonable to anticipate that if there are families that move into St. Paul's, a good number will attend Garden City Public Schools. As of this moment, that is all we can say definitively about this matter.
The Board of Education understands the importance of redevelopment questions for the community, The Board also recognizes that its first obligation is to provide a high quality public education for all residents of the school district, and to do that, it must plan effectively for the future. For these reasons, the Board of Education asks that communication specifically and directly affecting the schools be made through the Superintendent of Schools or directly through trustees and that all parties refrain from participating in media campaigns designed to support a particularly point of view-pro or con.
The school district will continue to request information regarding all redevelopment so we may determine how to responsibly plan for the education of students. We will collect information and remain independent in our own analysis to avoid any appearance of favoring one side or another. The Board of Education has always been forthright and open with all members of the community. We request and expect that this level of communication be reciprocated.
As trustees, we will continue to execute our job responsibly to plan for and provide for the education of all children within the school district.
Thank you.
