Charter Academy Proponents Press Case to BAS BoardCharter Academy Proponents Press Case to BAS Board

8/12/14 - A huge contingent of parents and other supporters of a proposed charter school academy packed a Brighton Board of Education meeting Monday night, pressing their case for the “Lindbom Classical Academy”. The academy would be located at the site of the old Lindbom Elementary School, which closed its doors several years ago. The 150 or more citizens at the meeting implored the board to approve the academy, arguing that it would not compete with the Brighton Area Schools for students. Paul Sullivan, the chief spokesman for the American Classical Academies, told the board that the academy would blend harmoniously with the local public schools and would ultimately bring more families into the community. Those in the audience said many people in the area have a desire for a traditional classical academy which would supply students with a liberal arts education, taught in the context of moral and ethical values. People came from as far away as Linden to voice their support. Superintendent Greg Gray says there’s really nothing for the board to approve at this point, since it had already given the green light to the ACA to convert the building into a charter school if all the criteria are met. The ACA has an offer of $1.45 million on the table. That’s $100,000 more than Robertson Brothers Homes, which was originally approved as the buyer. The Robertson deal fell through, however, when Robertson failed to obtain a necessary grant to demolish the property and ran into other problems. Gray says ACA will have 150 days to perform its due diligence and consummate the purchase. The board did reach consensus on making another offer the backup offer to ACA’s, should the deal fall through. The newest offer is $1.6 million – which is higher than the ACA offer - and is by the Grainger Construction Company. According to Gray the company wants to buy the property and convert it into senior assisted living development. Although Board member Bill Trombley, a Grainger employee, is not associated with that aspect of the company, he willingly agreed to abstain from any discussion or action on the proposal as a potential conflict of interest. (TT)