Executive Sessions Defended
The Sag Harbor School District released more details yesterday about its possible purchase of the old Stella Maris School property, amid some public frustration over the lack of information to date.
The classrooms in the old building have been found to be of adequate size and structurally sound in accordance with New York State Education Department codes, Katy Graves, the district superintendent, said yesterday. Initially, she said, there was concern that the classrooms might be too small.
The district has received a three-part analysis of the former parochial school building from Roger Smith of BBS Architects and Engineers, including what it would cost to stabilize it if it is not found to be structurally intact; how much it would take to bring it up to current state building code, and its potential uses for the district.
“The moment children step in the door it’s a game-changer. New York State has very, very strict standards,” Ms. Graves said.
“The important point is, this is an opportunity. It may not be an opportunity we want to follow, but it is an opportunity we need to explore pursuing at this time. We’re not going to see a school building in Sag Harbor become available ever again.”
She indicated that the district might have more to say within the next two weeks. If a significant sector of the community supports the purchase, Ms. Graves said, a bond referendum could be held as early as February.
Stella Maris, originally known as St. Andrew’s Parish School, was founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary in 1877. It closed at the end of the 2010-11 school year after a sharp decline in enrollment left the school in the red. The Star reported in May 2011 that its debt had reached nearly half a million dollars.
The most recent asking price for the property was $3.5 million.
Stella Maris has been the topic of at least five executive sessions of the Sag Harbor School Board since mid-July, when officials had it appraised; that figure has not been released. In August, Ms. Graves said the district would launch “an investigation” to collect feedback from taxpayers, families, Sag Harbor educators, and school leaders from neighboring districts. The most recent executive session was held on Tuesday.
There has been no public discussion of the proposal to date. School officials met yesterday with an outspoken critic, Jim Sanford, a resident who lost a bid for a school board seat in May and who subsequently joined the district’s facilities planning committee. Mr. Sanford has said that the school administration needs to justify a possible purchase. In a phone conversation on Tuesday, he said the acqusition would put too much stress on an already tight budget, and that he wanted to see “a stated need.”
“With student enrollment flat or down, and no discussion of overcrowding at the schools as any problem, I don’t understand what the use of this building is going to be,” Mr. Sanford said. “They’ve used $11,500 on an architect and diverted buildings and grounds [staff members] to work on it. They’re very serious about this, yet they say it’s too early for a public discussion. I have a tough time wrapping my arms around that fact.”
According to Robert Freeman, executive director of the state’s Committee on Open Government, if the public is already aware that a school board is considering buying a property, then publicity might not substantially affect the purchase.
“When you’re negotiating, the last thing you want to do is tell the world. The rug will be pulled out from under you, you won’t be able to make the best deal,” Mr. Freeman said. “But if the parcel is known, how can publicity affect that?”
“The fact that a governmental entity is involved in a real estate transaction or potential real estate transaction doesn’t automatically provide the basis for conducting an executive session,” he explained. “It involves common sense. ‘What would happen if we had to discuss this issue in public’? If the answer is, ‘Gee, this would hurt,’ maybe there is a basis.”
Asked whether a public discussion would be detrimental to negotiations, Ms. Graves said that was “a complete unknown” right now. “We have been keeping this in executive session because we are gathering the information we need to potentially negotiate on behalf of the public for a potential real estate transaction,” she said.
The district has invested taxpayer money into the process, she added, and the executive sessions protect that investment. “We wouldn’t want other folks that might be looking at that property to then have that information available to them,” Ms. Graves said.