The agreement with Y.A.L.E. School is a full-service lease set for five years, with the first year’s rent totaling about $665,000.
The Evesham Township Board of Education has approved a lease bid for Evans Elementary School to private school operator Y.A.L.E. School Southeast, Inc.
Superintendent John Scavelli said the agreement with Y.A.L.E. School is a full-service lease set for five years, with the first year’s rent totaling $665,910 and all fees incorporated into the rental agreement, including broker commission fees as well as anticipated property taxes.
According to the organization’s website, Y.A.L.E. School provides education to students with social, emotional, learning and behavioral disabilities from ages 3 to 21 at campuses throughout the state.
Representatives from Y.A.L.E. School could not be reached for comment. It is unknown what students will be educated at Evans and if officials with the private school operator plan to use the school as an additional facility or move an existing campus to Marlton.
The resolution passed by the BOE states Y.A.L.E. School has advised the district it can start leasing the Evans facility July 1, and Scavelli said the board’s goal is to have a lease agreement ready for final ratification at the BOE’s June 22 meeting.
With the Evans facility measuring 78,213 square feet, Scavelli said Y.A.L.E. School would be renting 44,384 square feet, including the front wing of the building, the wing facing Route 73, the gym, the cafeteria/all-purpose room and the library.
The rear wing of the building and addition built in 2000 will remain unoccupied, which Scavelli said the BOE could consider leasing in the future.
Scavelli said the district does not anticipate Y.A.L.E. School would need to modify the Evans School, but under the lease agreement, Y.A.L.E. School would be responsible for any modifications to the building.
According to Scavelli, general maintenance and repairs to the building and/or grounds would be the responsibility of the district under the full-service lease.
The lease agreement with Y.A.L.E. School is the latest development following the BOE’s controversial decision in March of last year to close Evans Elementary School at the end of this school year due to declining student enrollment figures across the district.
With a peak enrollment of 5,436 students in the 2002–2003 school year, enrollment had dropped by nearly 1,000 students to 4,440 when the board voted to close the school.
District demographic studies have projected declining enrollment figures for the next several years, and district officials have argued closing Evans would bring a savings of $1.4 million to the district.
“This agreement with Y.A.L.E. will generate additional revenue which will be used to help fund future budgets,” Scavelli said. “In addition, this agreement will generate additional revenue for the township through the payment of property taxes.”
Scavelli also said the district is not aware of any requirement under which the district would need to go before the township’s planning or zoning board to execute its agreement with Y.A.L.E. School.
Last year, the township and planning board sued the board of education for an alleged failure of the BOE to submit an amended long-range facilities plan that included any potential discontinuation of district buildings for review by the planning board before the BOE voted to close Evans.
At that time, the township and planning board also presented their own demographic studies, arguing housing numbers approved by the planning board showed an equal or slightly increased number of students in the next few years.
