Call to Order – 7:30 p.m.
Attendance
- BRAC: Ms. Belmont, Ms. Burgess, Mr. Pratt, Ms. Tooker
- Board/Admin: Mr. Dunn, Mr. Mann, Mr. Simons, Mr. Edson
- Guest: Mr. Bordick (CASDA), Mr. Conway (Town of East Greenbush)
Attendance Zones Study – Town of East Greenbush
Mr. Conway distributed an updated listing of residential development projects pending in the Town of East Greenbush as of April 2019. Mr. Edson referred to the chart in Appendix A of the CDRPC Study. which was projected in the fall. Mr. Conway advised that the proposed pace of housing developments does not always match actual construction.
Mr. Conway spoke about the PILOT given to Turnpike Redevelopment to renovate the old Kmart and Big Lots property into a training center. He hoped that the use of this property would stimulate growth in the surrounding area. Mr. Conway advised that the property assessed value would be frozen for several years, and that there were concerns about commercial development occurring without addition to the tax base. He said that the town budget will be stretched with supporting the additional infrastructure needed.
Discussion ensued that continued housing growth patterns are likely to impact the elementary schools, consistent with the enrollment study provided by the Capital District Regional Planning Commission. A key component of changing boundary lines could be ensuring residents of equal programming at the District’s elementary schools.
Mr. Simons advised that the District’s architects are working on a building capacity study that will be part of the consultant’s report.
It was noted that Niskayuna uses a flex zones model for elementary school boundaries, where students in the border zones could attend a different elementary school.
Another potential option for the future is to look at grade configurations.
Attendance Zones Study – Update
Mr. Bordick shared that he had met with the principals in the impacted areas and Ms. Belmont. He is laying the foundation for the report to be provided to the Board of Education in December with options and recommendations for the future, potentially for a two to three year time period. Mr. Bordick shared that he had met with a local real estate representative about the current housing market. He also met with representatives of Regeneron about the increase of approximately 1,500 new employees, 500 of which are already hired. A reflection on Regeneron is that many of the employees live outside the District, and the firm has flexible hours that should alleviate some traffic concerns. Mr. Bordick also shared he met with Mr. Lacivita of the North Greenbush Planning Board on planned housing developments.
The group was reminded that the move of CTAEP next year to Citizen Genet will free up three classrooms at Bell Top. However, this is only a temporary measure to accommodate enrollment growth. Two of the three rooms are expected to be used for classroom sections.
Adjournment – 8:45 p.m.