Call to Order – 7:32 p.m.
Attendance
BRAC : Ms. Burgess, Ms. Espinoza, Ms. Garrigan-Piela, Mr. Jeffers, Ms. Noeth, Mr. Noeth, Mr. Pratt, Mr. Romanowski, Ms. Tooker
Board/Admin : Mr. Mann, Ms. Taylor, Mr. Simons, Mr. Edson
Guests: Mr. Conway (Town of East Greenbush), Dr. Steele (CASDA)
Attendance Zones Study – Town of East Greenbush
Mr. Conway provided a listing of residential development projects pending in the Town of East Greenbush as of October 7, 2019. He reviewed the status of each project with BRAC members.
Mr. Conway commented on the continued expansion of Regeneron and the approximate 1,500 jobs that will be available once expansion is completed.
Mr. Conway spoke about the recent good performance of the real estate market. He also reviewed continued revitalization of Columbia Turnpike and the attraction of new businesses. The Supervisor believed that the market for apartments will improve as baby boomers retire and young individuals choose to have maintenance-free living.
The Town of East Greenbush is in the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan, which has not been updated since 1993. A series of stakeholder meetings has taken place, along with outreach to the District’s student leadership group. Mr. Conway said that once the Comprehensive Plan is completed, the Town will focus on amending the zoning rules.
Mr. Conway said that traffic studies continue regarding the Route 4 corridor, particularly at the intersection with Third Avenue Extension. He stated that any fixes for traffic congestion are likely to run in the millions of dollars.
Attendance Zones Study Update
Dr. Steele said he has begun drafting the attendance zones study report. He may have an outline or other information available for the next BRAC meeting. The report is tentatively planned to cover the following areas: the need for the study, enrollment projections, building capacity, potential growth, policy considerations, possible flex zones, transportation impact, and impact on current students.
Dr. Steele clarified that the impact is likely to affect the newer families to the school district. Flex zones are border areas between elementary attendance zones. The possibility exists that new families could attend either elementary school to allow the District to balance class sizes and space needs.
Other
Mr. Edson said the District has initiated a “Count Me In” campaign this fall to try to capture data on future students currently ages 0 to 5. Mr. Adam, Public Relations Specialist, and Ms. McGrath, Director of Pupil Personnel Services,will be attending the October 28 meeting to share an update on the campaign.
Adjournment – 8:50 p.m.