Hazelwood Initiative Purchases Burgwin Elementary Building

Pittsburgh Board of Education votes to sell Burgwin Elementary to Hazelwood InitiativeSchool will become Propel charter

By Jim Richter, Executive Director of Hazelwood InitiativeFor over five years Hazelwood Initiative and other community partners have worked to secure Burgwin School for reuse as a charter.  Our first attempt was in support of the Imagine Schools’ application to the Board of Education for a charter in Hazelwood.  That effort went all the way to Commonwealth Court on appeal as the school district denied Imagine’s application.  Imagine has since directed its focus on Penn Hills.More recently, a ground swell of activity by Hazelwood individuals and organizations centered on Propel Schools.  The Duquesne/Hazelwood Partnership spearheaded by Rev. Tim Smith, executive director of Center of Life, brought the community and Propel together.  We immediately invited Propel Schools into our community because of their sincerity and their Promising Principles: Agile Instruction, Embedded Support, Culture of Dignity, Fully Valued Arts Program, Vibrant Teaching Communities, and Quest for Excellence.  After wide-spread community organizing efforts, Propel applied to the district for a charter in Hazelwood.  Since the school board neither approved nor denied the charter application by a 4-4 vote with one abstention, an appeal went to the Commonwealth’s Charter School Appeal Board (“CAB”) for review on grounds that the Pittsburgh School District failed to grant or deny the charter application within the statutorily required time period.  In October 2013, the CAB awarded Propel a charter based on the merit of its application.With the granting of the charter, Propel and the community set out to secure a suitable site for the school.  And what could be more obvious than Burgwin.  I keep going back to the development adage, “The highest, best reuse of a school is a school.”  Built in 1937, the 62,175 square foot building sits on 2.7 acres atop Mansion Street in the heart of Glenwood.  Added to the ongoing renovation of the Burgwin recreation building and the future water spray park, the location is a touchstone of redevelopment efforts for the neighborhood.  With that in mind, Hazelwood Initiative sprang into action immediately submitting a Buyers’ Prequalification and Minimum Offer Requirements for Former School Properties for Sale and a non-binding offer letter to purchase the school at full price, $475,000.  The offer was made through Fourth River Development, the real estate broker for the school district.While Fourth River and school administrators evaluated Hazelwood Initiative’s offer, we stated our case to then school board director, Theresa Colaizzi.  After several in-depth meetings, Ms. Colaizzi rallied to our cause and in November 2013 introduced a resolution to sell the school to Hazelwood Initiative.  Unfortunately, that resolution was met with great opposition by the majority of school board members.  We certainly are appreciative of Theresa’s efforts in her last days on the board.Enter a new board and the efforts by Terry Kennedy to champion the community’s cause.  Ms. Kennedy initially was reluctant to support the sale of the school based on financial, enrollment, and other factors.  She soon changed her mind based on a thorough analysis of those issues along with overwhelming advocacy by the Hazelwood community.  School administrators also recommended sale of the school.  Ms. Kennedy, who had campaigned to re-open the school, said she came to realize that Propel was going to open a school in Hazelwood whether the district sold Burgwin to Propel or not. "The community really is behind this," she said.In February, Ms. Kennedy asked the board to approve the sale. Board member Bill Isler seconded the motion, but withdrew his second after Director Mark Brently said the manner in which it was brought up violated the board's procedures. Others on the board agreed and the motion then died without a second.We were back to square one.  But this time, Ms. Kennedy was sure that her next attempt would be procedurally within board rules and regulations.  So, on March 26, on the third attempt, Ms. Kennedy introduced a resolution approving “the sale of Burgwin School to Hazelwood Initiative, Inc. for the offered amount of $475,000 which amount exceeds the amount opined as the market value by all appraisals obtained by the District.”  Mr. Isler again seconded and rigorous debate followed.  When the vote was taken, the Board approved the sale by a margin of 8 to 1.  Our long quest was achieved.Propel's plan calls for the school opening on August 18 with 200 students in K-4 and growing to K-8.  Hazelwood Initiative will lease the school to Propel for a five-year term with an option for an additional five years.  After we conduct a hazardous materials assessment and reevaluate the building’s systems and structural integrity, our due diligence will be complete.  Then, we will have a few details to iron out with the lease agreement, after which things will be ready to go. Propel has been enrolling prospective students from Hazelwood for almost three months.  They also have hired their new principal who will be relocating from New York.  Eric Ewell, Propel’s Hazelwood liaison, continues to take enrollment applications and can be reached at 412-584-8041 or by going to Propel’s web site at www.propelschools.org.All in the community and at Propel are extremely excited, and we particularly want to thank School Director Terry Kennedy for her hard work in getting the sale authorized.  We also want to thank the other Board of Education members who voted in favor including Bill Eisler, Board President Thomas Sumpter, Carolyn Klug, Sylvia Wilson, Dr. Regina Holley, Sherry Hazuda, and Cynthia Falls.  This important action signals the start of reinvestment in the education of Hazelwood’s children.For more information, please contact Matt Smuts, PCRG's Hazelwood Community Coordinator, at msmuts@pcrg.org or (412) 391-6732 ext 203.