Miner wants to see the district's Plan B, but Superintendent Dan Lowengard says there isn't one.
View full sizeSyracuse mayor Stephanie Miner talks about the city school district's failure to properly vet a deal for temporary classrooms. Syracuse, NY - Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner today criticized the school district administration for its failure to properly vet a deal for temporary classrooms, saying the superintendent has left city leaders with no good options.
Superintendent Dan Lowengard has been urging the city to approve a $28-million, 15-year lease on the former Syracuse Developmental Center to relocate pupils during district-wide school renovations. The student bodies of H.W. Smith K-8 school and Dr. Weeks Elementary are slated to move there in 2011. Private developers would renovate three buildings on the SDC campus and rent them to the district.
The Post-Standard reported Sunday that the school district’s background check of the principals involved in the deal failed to uncover that one of them, Maurice Hoo, of Florida, has had $1 million in judgments and that he fought off a federal mail fraud charge and home foreclosure. The proposed buyer of the SDC site, Health Consortium-USA, is a joint venture of Hoo’s REIT-Americas Ltd. and Houston-based Davico Realty Group.
Miner said she has requested from Lowengard a “viable Plan B” in case the city turns down the SDC lease. The Common Council has made a similar request, but Lowengard has insisted there are no other spaces that would work. The only alternative is to scale back renovations at Smith and Weeks and delay the entire project, he said.
Unless the district provides an acceptable alternative, the deal with Health Consortium may be the only way the city can live up to its most recent promise to fully upgrade four schools, Miner said. Original phase one plans, dating back several years, called for renovating seven schools but were reduced due to budget gaps. Renovations at Smith and Weeks might have to be taken off the table in phase one if the city can’t relocate the pupils, she said.
“We made a solid commitment to build four schools,” Miner said.
Also at risk if the city can’t move pupils out of the buildings is a newly negotiated pay cut for program manager Gilbane Building Co., Miner said.
The mayor announced today she has negotiated a cut of at least $600,000 to Gilbane, reflecting a series of delays and disappointments in phase one. Gilbane has agreed to give up the $600,000 of its $16.6 million contract, Miner said. Gilbane could lose another $400,000 if it fails to meet the benchmarks of completing schools and getting children moved back into them, she said. The JSCB meets at 8:30 a.m. Thursday and would have to vote to approve it.
But if there’s no “swing space” to house displaced pupils, the deal with Gilbane would be no good, Miner said. “Not just this deal, but the entire budget gets blown up,” the mayor said.
Miner said she hasn’t decided on her stance on the lease deal. She’s waiting to see Lowengard’s plan B.
The council’s next opportunity to vote on the lease is July 12. In a preliminary vote April 26, council voted 5-4 in favor of the deal. Several councilors said the new information about Hoo caused more hesitation.
“The school district’s Option A is in peril,” Miner said.
Lowengard has described Hoo as a peripheral partner in the deal and argued the proposed lease protects the city, even if the developers fail to complete renovations.
Meanwhile, city Auditor Phil LaTessa has been trying to research the developers since learning of Hoo’s history. But the broker on the deal is trying to stop him, he said. Bart Feinberg, of Sutton Real Estate Co., sent an e-mail to Hoo Monday morning instructing him not to respond to LaTessa’s calls.
“(LaTessa) is running for State Assembly and wants to make news for himself,” Feinberg wrote in the e-mail, provided to The Post-Standard by LaTessa’s office.
LaTessa, a Democrat running for 119th Assembly District seat, said he saw Fineberg’s message when it was inadvertently forwarded to him as part of an e-mail chain by a school district official.
LaTessa alerted common councilors and Miner by memo and sent a written response to Feinberg in which he requested Hoo’s contact information be sent to him by 3 p.m. Monday. Around that time, LaTessa received an e-mail from Feinberg directing him to contact a representative of Davico, Hoo’s partner, the auditor said.
“I’m concerned. I want to make sure everyone is on the up and up,” LaTessa said. “It’s my job. They’re stonewalling my office, and we have grave concerns relative to this project.”
Fineberg could not be reached for comment.
Meghan Rubado can be reached at mrubado@syracuse.com or 470-3260.