West Buffalo Charter School in battle over location

By Allison Jagow and Patrick Simons
Bengal News reporters

 With the current school year underway, Elmwood Village Charter School and West Buffalo Charter School continue to fight for the vacant building at the corner of Days Park and Cottage Street.
 There was a resolution determined on Oct. 19 by the court. Any independent appraiser that is on the Appraisal Review Board’s approved list can now appraise the property. The council will then make a decision based on a two-thirds vote on which school will occupy the building for the next five years.
 West Buffalo Charter School has been approved by the state and has obtained its charter for the next five years. By not having a building to run the school out of, they are losing valuable time on their charter. According to Ellicott District Council member Curtis Haynes, West Buffalo Charter School will lose its charter if it is unable to identify a location by Dec. 1.
 The controversy over which charter school will occupy the Public School 36 dates back to July when Erie County Supreme Court Justice Patrick NeMoyer blocked the sale of the building to Elmwood Village Charter School.
 The decision was made based upon the failure by the Appraisal Review Board to consider all appraisals before setting the property value. Under the direction of Samuel Savarino, chief executive officer of Savarino Cos. and the landlord of Elmwood Villages, West Buffalo Charter School bid the property at $800,000. Elmwood Village Charter School put its bid in at $540,000, which is what the appraisal board set the appraisal at initially. The review board failed to consider other offers at the time.
 Samuel Savarino addresses the importance of the location for West Buffalo Charter:

 It has been decided by NeMoyer that the Common Council will be making the final decision on which school will occupy School 36.
 West Buffalo Charter School was set to open this fall with 162 students enrolled in kindergarten through second grade. Although that date has been pushed forward until next fall, the school has a plan once it opens.
 West Buffalo Charter School will focus its curriculum mainly on teaching students speech, language, literacy and personal skills. The school will also have art, music, technology, dance, theatre, physical education, and computer classes.
The school is expecting to have smaller class sizes with approximately 18 students to a class, as well as a longer school year extending through July.
 The argument for West Buffalo Charter School to occupy School 36 is extensive according to Savarino. He said that West Buffalo Charter School would need the building because the curriculum is specific to the needs of the West Side. The students have lower language and reading skills according to Savarino, so West Buffalo Charter School would fulfill the needs of the community.
 The renewal of a school’s charter depends on the success of the school, according to Liz Evans, the founding member of Elmwood Village Charter School and chair of the board of trustees.
 Elmwood Village Charter School, located at 124 Elmwood Ave. has been a well-known charter school for the past five years starting in 2006. The school educates students from kindergarten through the sixth grade, with 25 students in each class. It recently has been approved for its charter to be extended for another five years. The school would like to expand its campus and double the amount of students enrolled in the school. An expansion would help the school be able to further educate more children on the West Side.
 Elmwood Village Charter School thinks that School 36 would be an ideal location because of its desire to expand. In the future, it would like to add seventh and eighth grade classes to the school. The school has also begun the process of adding a new kindergarten class every year until there are two classes for each grade level. Liz Evans, founding member of Elmwood Village Charter School and chair of the board of trustees, said that School 36 is an ideal location to accompany its increasing student enrollment.
 The location of the school on Days Park is an easy access location for students and parents. It is within walking distance and would not require bus transportation, Evans said.
 “Community is a big part of our charter,” Evans said. “We take the kids out to the neighborhood, so we interact with the community a lot.”

Edited by Tony Fiorello and Natalie Lleras