School ownership transferred
SHARPSBURG: Ownership of the former Sharpsburg Elementary School, now the Sharpsburg Center for Children and Adults, is being transferred to the Watson Institute, a former tenant.
Fox Chapel Area School District is transferring the building which it has owned since the district was formed by merger in 1970. Its effect on current tenants such as ALL of Us Care and the Sharpsburg Branch ofLauri Ann West Memorial Library remains to be seen.
"It is not a sale, it is a transfer," Michael Nealon, Fox Chapel Area 's assistant superintendent, said.
He said public schools can transfer property that's deemed no longer valuable as a school to non-profit organizations. In June, the Fox Chapel Area School Board declared the building "unused or unnecessary land" according toprovision 707.71 of the Pennsylvania School Code.
School district business administrator Steven Mols said the board then approved transferring the building to the Watson Institutefor $1. Watson is a 501C3 organization -- a nonprofit -- which makes it an eligible recipient. Watson Institute, originally know as D.T. Watson and then Watson Rehabilitation Services, is a Sewickley-based special education provider and trainsproviders to help those in need of special education services.
The district did ask Watson to consider letting the community groups continue to occupy their spaces in the building.
"It is not Watson's intent to evict them," Nealon said. But there is no guarantee. "What Watson does is up to Watson."High operating cost
The school district has been paying for the building's operation, at a cost of about $180,000annually, Mols said. If the district kept it, the roof, boiler and other areas areprojected to need renovations estimated as high as $700,000.
In addition, the Northern Area Multiservice Cener had moved its senior citizensprograms out of the building. The school district had been without its$24,000 rental fee since March 2002.
The Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU) rents space providing about $43,000a year or about $8 a square foot. The AIUprovides project DART which operates the Head Start Program forpreschoolers.
The other tenant was Watson which paid $41,000 to the school district.
However Watson's CEO Raymond White said he had approached Fox Chapel aboutimproving security, greenspace, and providing more space.
The school district provides ALL of Us Care and the branch library spaceat no charge and pays the utilities and custodial staff. The school districtwas looking at the bottom line.
"Our revenue source in that building would have been nil," Mols said.
Under review
After Watson first approached the school district in November, administratorsand board members considered the options.
"The board was looking at it to continue a viable and good facility -- apresence in the community," Mols said.
White said his organization is continuing to review the situation. He ismeeting this week with the final tenant Working Order. It has retained an architect to study the building also.
Even though the building is being offered for a nominal price, "we have to figure out what itwill cost us if I'm going to inherit those groups," White said. "There'sgot to be equity (among the tenants), but we want to be good communitymembers."
Watson runs the Craig Academy in Pittsburgh's Highland Park section. It has had its LEAP program at theSharpsburg site since 1995. LEAP has 36 autistic children and 72 typicallydeveloping youngsters at the local site. Watson officials want to bring the youngerstudents from the Craig Academy to Sharpsburg and headquarter thepreschool and early elementary programs here.
"We want to put them in an environment in keeping with what we're tryingto do," White said. "The drive for us is to expand space in there for ourown programming needs."
Need for security
One of Watson's concerns will be to increase security within the building.
"Safety has to be paramount for the kids you're entrusted with," Whitesaid.
That would not conflict with the Head Start Program but restrictingentrance and egress could affect the library patrons.
Since Lauri Ann West Memorial opened the branch in July 1996, thecirculation and collections have doubled. Last year 8,800 materialscirculated out of that site.
"It's a community that desperately needs a library," head librarian SusanHolmes said.
She said she feels that way about every community but "these numbers showit."
The library provided 13,800 books and the staff, while the school districtdonated the space rent free. Holmes met this week with White, but saidwithout the numbers the library's future is up in the air.
"We didn't plan for this event," Holmes said. "We'll have to look aroundto see how we can support this. It would depend on what that (rental(number) is."
An offer declined
Sharpsburg Borough donated $17,500 last year toward the local service. Theborough owns the gym which is located on the same property along Clay Street.
Linden Gym was given to the borough in the early 1980s. Mols said it wasbefore his tenure with the district but his understanding is the schoolbuilding was offered to the municipality but it declined.
The Sharpsburg School was built in 1903. When Sharpsburg joined the FoxChapel Area School District, the building became part of the district'sproperties. In 1993, the building was given a major renovation and Fairview Elementary students were bussed there while Fairview wasrenovated.
The school district properties are managed by the Fox Chapel SchoolAuthority. Decades ago, there were fiscal advantages to having anauthority run the properties and their renovations. The district continuesto contract with the authority for major maintenance because of itsexpertise, Mols said.
Herald staff writer Tawnya Panizzi contributed to this report.
