Reply to Bridges Families - What have you been told about the new Taylor Street location next door?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]SSMA incoming parent here. From what I understand SSMA administration asked the LANDLORD whether he was negotiating with Bridges, to which he said no, they're not interested. SSMA then proceeded very far along in the leasing process, both parties signed a Letter of Intent, SSMA submitted the address as their location to the charter school board, SSMA got permits for doing certain renovations they needed, etc. There was some back and forth with the final contract, but all parties were supposedly negotiating in good faith towards finalizing th lease.  At this point, Bridges would very likely have been aware that SSMA was close to finalizing (they'd have to be living under a rock not to know that) and I believe that the Charter Board also asked them why they were submitting a location that SSMA had already submitted the month before.[b] The SSMA director said she had been on the other end of that situation before where she was interested in a spot but learned that another school was in negotiations for it and she said that the usual practice is for the school coming along second to back away. (The real estate attorney said that the usual (ethical) thing for a landlord in that situation is to say we're very far along in the process of a contract that is being negotiated in good-faith so I can't talk to you unless it is cancelled.) [/b]

Once SSMA believed they had agreed upon the final contract they submitted their payment and signed contract.  It was then that the landlord told SSMA that he received an unsolicited bid from Bridges that he was considering, which he ultimately decided to take.  The SSMA administration believes that the landlord was actually negotiating with Bridges for some time and used the final signed contract as leverage to get Bridges to agree to a better deal.

So Bridges definitely comes away looking like they knew they were stepping into a space that SSMA was planning to use, but they didn't have direct conversations with SSMA and say they weren't negotiating for it.[/quote]

That is a pretty easy position to take if you're just opening a new school.  It is different if you already have PS/PK/K/1st/2nd and they are spread out over two campuses in the immediate area.  In that case, you have to do what's best for the 250 or 300 students you're already serving.

I have to agree with the real estate attorney that the landlord is the one with the burden to step away.  The individual schools have an obligation to act in their students' best interests.[/quote]

Maybe the Bridges families can relate what they're going to be putting in that space, then. It sounded to me like they were planning to add classes - PS3 classes - which isn't "students they're already serving" so much. I can't help but wonder if people's responses would be different if you replaced "Shining Stars" with "Lee Montessori" or "Inspired Teaching" or "Mundo Verde". Many of these posts come off as "Well, they deserve it because X or Y." As a former SSMA family, I am under absolutely no delusions about the issues the school faces. Those issues certainly contributed to our looking elsewhere. But the suggestion is that we should give Bridges the benefit of the doubt, while Shining Stars clearly must be disorganized, unprofessional, etc.[/quote]

Bridges has always had PS3 classes.  It originally opened as just PS3/PK4.  Now it's growing up to 5th grade and the oldest class is the rising 2nd grade.  So, yes these are students they're already serving.[/quote]

I'm aware that they've always had PS3. [b]What I was told[/b] was that they were adding additional PS3 classes - in addition to the ones they already had. This was not from anyone at the school though - just a person with a 3 year old on the waitlist for Bridges with low numbers. Adding several classes of three year olds and needing to expand to accommodate them is not meeting the needs of current students. If they had been unable to obtain space, they would not be adding those classes and the children they already serve would attend class in their current space(s).[/quote]

Who cares what you were told?  I know children who are told there is a Tooth Fairy, that doesn't make it true.  What have you actually verified as fact?  Or, do you just believe everything that you are told?[/quote]

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