PIACS Application Continued to July 7

Note: A correction was made to a quote that was incorrectly attributed to PIACS Lead Founder Dr. Bonnie Liao, when the information was actually presented by YingHua Director Natalie Ye during testimony.  In regards to the hours a nurse would be on hand at the charter school, Dr. Liao clarified that during Ye's testimony, Ye said the YingHua International School would have a nurse on site for 24 hours over the course of the school year, as private schools are not required to have a nurse on site.  Dr. Liao said PIACS would have a part-time nurse at the site of the charter school for a total of 20 hours per week at a salary of $25,000 per year.

The application for a proposed charter school in South Brunswick was continued until July 7 by the township zoning board Thursday evening, as a spokesman for the school labeled the chances of gaining a certificate of occupancy by the extension deadline of July 15 as having a "50-50" chance.

Testimony continued in front of the Zoning Board of Adjustment for the application from developer 12 P & Associates, LLC, for the proposed Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS).  The hearing was moved to the South Brunswick Senior Center to accommodate the overflow crowd that was forced into the municipal building lobby during the last hearing for the application.

"All of the turnout here tonight is a result of the objection to the creation of the charter school," said 12 P attorney Andre Gruber during the hearing.  "PIACS was approved by the Department of Education and during that process there was ample opportunity for people to express their objections, which they did, but this was still approved."

Approximately 150 people were in attendance during the Thursday evening hearing that

PIACS has a deadline of June 30 to obtain a certificate of occupancy for a building located at 12 Perrine Road that is currently a liquor distribution warehouse. When PIACS failed to open in September 2010, the school was granted a planning year extension by the state Department of Education.  If PIACS fails to open this year, the DOE could extend PIACS’ deadline for an occupancy permit until July 15. If no extension is granted, PIACS would have to reapply to the DOE for a new charter.  

PIACS co-founder Parker Block said the school was granted an extension by the DOE last year and was confident it could gain another.

"I'm cautiously hopeful for our chances to open (at 12 Perrine Road) in September but it's going to be very difficult and right now, looking at where we are, I'd say it's about 50-50," Block said.  "But we're looking at various other options, none of which are in South Brunswick."

Block said there are four other locations in Princeton Township and in the West Windsor-Plainsboro area that PIACS has considered as a precaution, should the 12 P application fail to gain occupancy permits by the deadline.  He said those sites would not require a zoning variance to obtain a certificate of occupancy.  Block added that it was just a matter of getting a deal done by the school's deadline.

 The private school currently has about 25 students enrolled, while PIACS is projected to open with 170 students.  YingHua is projected to expand to about 40 students within four years.

The facility at 12 Perrine Road is about 41,000-square feet.  PIACS would occupy 13,780-square-feet, while YingHua would occupy 2,115-square-feet.  The total number of students attending both schools is projected to be about 210, with 30 faculty members and 12 total classrooms.

Following concerns raised during the previous hearing, PIACS submitted a site plan that sought to address some of the issues that were raised.  But zoning board member Frank Antisell said the site plan was not submitted with sufficient time to allow for a review of the alterations to the plan.  

"There's changes to this plan that are significant but still haven't addressed a number of questions," Antisell said during the hearing.

Among the issues that still need to be addressed by PIACS are sidewalks along the property, in addition to the widening of Perrine Road to address the traffic impact.  The traffic engineer for PIACS was unable to make it to the hearing, so the traffic impact testimony is expected to be heard at the July 7 meeting.

Block acknowledged that were PIACS to be given approval, it would be "very difficult" for the school to complete the necessary work that needs to be done to the road and sidewalks by the time the school would open in September.  

Antisell also questioned why it took PIACS so long to provide the site plan given the time frame between the last zoning hearing.

"There were a number of discussions that went back and forth and questions we needed to have answered before our professionals could revise the site plan," Block said.  "We just didn't have enough time."

The Perrine Road facility would house 60 kindergarten students, 60 first-grade students and 50 second-grade students.  PIACS projects about 35 students from South Brunswick, 35 from Princeton and 100 from West Windsor-Plainsboro.  

The state projected South Brunswick to lose about $800,000 for approximately 75 students to PIACS, but Block said the actual number will be about 35 students from South Brunswick, which translates into about $300,000 to $400,000.

PIACS would operate from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.  Seven buses would be provided by the home school districts for the students attending PIACS, three buses from West Windsor-Plainsboro for their 100 students projected to attend the school, two from South Brunswick and two from Princeton.

The revised site plan included the elimination of several parking spots to a total of 63.  Throughout the meeting, residents and zoning board members questioned how the facility could accommodate the potential for approximately 70 cars dropping off and picking up students attending YingHua and those who attend PIACS, but aren't bused in from their home district.  

PIACS drop off time would run from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., while YingHua's drop off time begins at 8 a.m.  PIACS representatives said they were confident there would be no overlap, and that the school's aftercare program would alleviate some of the backup of cars in the parking lot that could occur at the end of the school day.

However, residents still expressed concerns for the safety of the students who could be walking between a line of parents pulling out of the queue of cars, which can hold about 32 vehicles.  PIACS representatives said parents wouldn't allow their kids to walk between the line of vehicles. 

The bus drop off area would accommodate about seven 40-foot buses, according to PIACS engineer Bill Busby.

Other concerns raised by residents included the removal of trees along Perrine Road, the safety of students during a fire drill, and the lack of a full-time nurse on site.  YingHua Director Natalie Ye said a nurse would be on site at the private school for about 24 total hours over the course of the school year.  Dr. Liao clarified that PIACS would have a part-time nurse at the site of the charter school for a total of 20 hours per week at a salary of $25,000 per year.

The original plan for PIACS was to have three classrooms subdivided by furniture into five classrooms, while the private school would have four classrooms.  Under the revised plan, PIACS would have eight classrooms, while YingHua would have four.  The revised plan called for several doors that would've linked the unoccupied portion of the facility with the two schools to be removed and sealed with drywall. The revised plan also reconfigured entrances so each school would have their own separate entrance.  

"There keeps being more and more issues coming up, that begs the question of whether it's in your best interest to continue with engineering testimony," Hammer said to Gruber during the hearing.

Block acknowledged the revised site plan was rushed in order to meet the PIACS deadline, but said he hoped to have a number of the issues addressed and clarified by the next hearing.

"Zoning board hearings don't get resolved in one meeting and we're in this for the long haul," Block said.  "South Brunswick's slogan is the 'Crossroads for Progress.' Well there's an old saying, that where there is no struggle there is no progress."

PIACS was approved by the state Department of Education in January 2010 as a dual-language Mandarin-English immersion school that will originally serve students in kindergarten through second grade from the Princeton Regional, West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional and South Brunswick school districts.  

PIACS was originally planned to open at the St. Joseph's Seminary on Mapleton Road in Plainsboro last September, but due to a deficiency in its zoning application for a zoning use variance, hearings were delayed and the school was unable to open.

If PIACS opens in September, its charter would be good for four years before coming up for renewal by the DOE.  If it's renewed at that point, it would maintain the charter for another five years before needing to be renewed again.  Should PIACS fail to open at 12 Perrine Road in September, Block said the founders would still be hopeful to make the facility the home for PIACS in the future.  

"This is still the location, if we're able to get it done, that would be ideal for the school as far as long-term growth," he said.  "But it's going to be very difficult to get it done by the deadline."

The application for PIACS will return to the Zoning Board of Adjustments at 7:45 p.m. on July 7.  The application is expected to be heard at the Senior Center again.

The PIACS Debate

Click here to learn more about the various aspects of the PIACS program and how it compares to the education offered by the South Brunswick School District.

Click here to learn more about the issues surrounding PIACS and a private school that has been proposed to share the 12 Perrine Road location with PIACS.  The private school, YingHua International School, was founded by PIACS lead founder Dr. Bonnie Liao.



Click here to learn more about the debate surrounding the public's right to vote on the approval of any new charter schools in their community.