Two groups vie for Lincoln "A" Wednesday
A former elementary school is a hot commodity right now, with two groups vying for the much-needed space. The Board of Education is scheduled to vote Wednesday on either the Boys and Girls Club of Frederick County, or the Monocacy Valley Montessori Public Charter School, pictured left, as new tenants for the Lincoln “A” building.
The school, a 20,000-square-foot building on Madison Street, was replaced by the renovated Lincoln “B” Elementary School in 2012, and most recently housed YMCA’s Headstart, and FCPS offices. FCPS is looking to monetize the building, make needed repairs, and put it to its best use for FCPS students and the community.
Some board members are leaning towards the Boys and Girls Club proposal since two Frederick County Public School programs have been added to its original proposal to sweeten the deal, Child Find and SUCCESS. The BG Club and MVMCPS submitted proposals in January, but were asked to drill deeper into the financials of their proposals to give the BOE a better view of how they plan to pay for renovations, and maintain the annual lease agreement with FCPS.
FCPS must still contribute the cost of bringing the building up to code, including repairing the ceiling, and updating the sprinkler and security systems, at a cost of almost $500,000.
Each group turned in more detailed proposals in June, with the BG Club adding the two FCPS programs. Members of each group are highly motivated and say the Lincoln "A" building is their first and best choice for a new facility.
“This looks like an amazing opportunity to me, for them [the BOE] to be innovative and to set the standard for collaboration with their own charter schools,” Kathleen Lutrell, vice president of Monocacy Montessori Communities, Inc. said. “There’s no downside to this.” MMCI is the nonprofit governing board of both the county’s Montessori charter schools.
When the YMCA left in June 2016, the Boys and Girls Club approached Frederick County Public Schools about renovating and leasing the space. The Club, said Mark Lancaster, chairman of the BG Club board of directors, is “bursting at the seams,” and is in pursuit of a place to grow, one that has separate classroom facilities for its after-school and summer programs, and a gymnasium. Currently, the Club has a facility on Burke Street, close to McCurdy Field, and serves about 60 students in its after school and summer programs.
“Our intention is to find a new facility. This is the one we want the most. It’s in the right spot, within walking distance to a lot of kids we serve, and this would be an ideal situation for us,” Lancaster said.
After the Club approached FCPS, the BOE asked other interested nonprofits to submit proposals for giving the building a much-needed facelift and leasing the space for long-term use. The county’s three charter schools were supposed to be notified, too, but MVMPCS got word of the building’s availability from Superintendent Terry Alban, Ph.D, just weeks before the proposals were due on Jan. 13. MMCI officers went to work to put together a proposal. Lutrell said it was so important, she gave up her vacation to work on it.
The board whittled seven proposals down to two: the Boys and Girls Club and the Monocacy Valley Montessori Public Charter School.
The charter school, now in its 15th year, is the first charter school in Maryland. Its current location, a former church on Dill Avenue, houses 270 students, and another 30 in preschool and Pre-K classes. The waiting list, which operates as a lottery for admission, has close to 1,000 students, according to the original MVMCPS proposal submitted to the BOE. Moving to Lincoln “A,” and building a two-story addition will allow the school to grow by 50 students.
“While MVM [Monocacy Valley Montessori] has happily resided in its current space for several years, I believe that the ever- evolving program is out-growing this small church,” said MMCI President Amy Duvall. “Additionally, the lease renewal is approaching. As it stands, that contract would mean a rent increase that is less than affordable. We would much rather use the limited funds that we have to invest in our teachers and students; not inflated facilities costs.”
FCPS pays MVMCPS $9,375 per student annually to operate and rent its current location. The cost per student in noncharter schools in the county is $13,617. By moving to Lincoln and taking on another 50 students from FCPS, school leaders say that FCPS will save up to $3 million over 30 years. If MVMCPS moves into Lincoln “A,” the rent money would also go back to FCPS. The nonprofit organization says it has a 20-year financing commitment for an estimated $1.8 million in renovation costs.
The charter school is “well qualified to do the project,” Lutrell said, and cited the organization’s ability to get financing, and the benefit of paying FCPS funds to FCPS instead of a private landlord. “We could start tomorrow,” she said. “We don’t need to do fundraising or have a capital campaign,” she said. “There are an enormous number of benefits to the community … including saving them a significant amount of money.”
The Boys and Girls Club, which relies heavily on private donors and corporate sponsorships, received a private donation of $500,000 in June. “That donation will go a long way towards the renovation and maintenance of this building, obviously,” Lancaster said. “FCPS will be using almost 50 percent of the building and will help us with month-to-month debt issues, plus we have had several individuals come along and say, if we did get a building, they would help us. These are private donations from some large companies, so we were very, very happy to hear that.”
The Boys and Girls Club initially wanted to partner with the county’s Career and Technology Center to expand its programming, but the costs of sustaining that expansion, which was explored by the BOE in 2013, are out of reach for FCPS at this point, according to BOE documents. At the BOE’s Feb. 8 meeting to discuss Lincoln “A” options, Markoe proposed Child Find and SUCCESS as potential tenants. BOE member Dr. April Miller, suggested that instead of CTC, the Boys and Girls Club partner with those programs to enhance the use of the building.
Following up on that to make their proposal more appealing to the board, Lancaster said he worked with FCPS Deputy Superintendent David Markoe to determine that the likeliest partners are Child Find and SUCCESS. Child Find identifies, evaluates and provides services to children from birth to age 21 who are suspected of having a disability. Child Find, a state-mandated program, is currently housed at FCPS’ Hayward Road location. SUCCESS helps disabled students ages 18 to 21 meet their individual and vocational goals, and is currently located in Walkersville.
“I was dealing with Dr. Markoe, and he knew that there were facility needs that FCPS had, and he knew we had a need,” Lancaster said. “We decided to see how we might be able to combine efforts to take care of FCPS facility issues and help the Boys and Girls Club.”
Michael Bunitsky, board member and former teacher and FCPS administrator, wants to see SUCCESS housed in Frederick to give its students the options to learn and use public transportation. “Of all the programs we run, SUCCESS works with the neediest group of students to be able to access a greater number and quality of activities in the community, as well as transportation. That is the key to having success in their entire lives,” he said. “It weighs heavy on me.”
Not to be outdone, MVMCPS also looked into potential partnership with both programs, and while the SUCCESS program’s needs are not compatible with the school’s plans, they believe they can accommodate Child Find, according to MMCI President Melissa Najera.
Najera, who said she was initially rebuffed in her attempt to talk with Child Find staff, talked to a Board of Education member about the lack of communication. When she did connect with Dr. Keith Harris, executive director of the accelerating achievement and equity department who oversees Child Find, Najera said he was noncommittal, but that after their conversation, she believes the school’s proposal can easily accommodate Child Find.
Board member Ken Kerr, Ph.D., said he was leaning towards supporting MVMCPS because, in part, he wants the Lincoln building to remain an FCPS facility. “They have to leave their current facility and I really want them to stay in a walkable neighborhood … I don’t want to see another Montessori school that is not in a residential neighborhood,” Kerr said. The county’s second Montessori charter school, Carroll Creek Montessori School is located in an office park.
But BOE President Brad Young worries about the charter school making a long-term financing agreement when there’s always a possibility its charter could not be renewed in the future. “My question is what lender on God’s green earth would lend them $2 million? If the charter is revoked, there is no asset,” he said. The county’s charter schools had a chance to move into Lincoln “A” several years ago and weren’t interested, Young added.
MVMCPS’ Najera countered that the school has a long and successful track record, and doesn’t foresee the school losing its charter. MMCI [Monocacy Montessori Communities, Inc.] the nonprofit that runs both the schools, is the responsible party,” Najera said. “Nothing would obligate FCPS to pay that debt. We are looking at 15 years of experience and existence, and the longevity is earning us our place at the table. We are confident we will be around for a long time.”
Losing a charter would mean the school would have to be “amazingly bad,” she said.
The school’s charter comes up for renewal this year, and the trustees are asking for a 10-year agreement. Usually, the charter renewal is for five to six years, Najera said, but with the Frederick Classical Charter School receiving an eight-year agreement, they believe the precedent is set for a longer contract.
BOE members Liz Barrett and Dr. Miller said they are not yet sure how they will vote Wednesday. Both say they want a solution that helps the most kids in the most cost-effective manner.
“Whatever is the most cost efficient, serves the most number of kids, serves our community and doesn’t present risks for the school system, is what will work best,” BOE Vice President Barrett said.
For Dr. Miller, who said she supports charter schools, her main criteria are how to best use the space for the maximum number of students, incorporating community use. “I honestly don’t know what I am going to do,” she said. “I will listen to both presentations, but charter schools are supposed to have the right of first refusal. There’s supposed to be some partnership there.” But she does like the idea of a campus that includes FCPS programming, too. “It will be a tough decision,” she said.
The BOE will meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 12 in the FCPS Board Room at the Central Office building, 191 South East St.
The writer, Katherine Heerbrandt, served on the MVMCPS governance board from 2014 – 2015, but was not part of any relocation discussions during that time.
