Money woes may close U. City New School

Inadequate funds may force the University City New School to shut its doors at the end of the academic year, according to UCNS Admissions Director Elene Kavitsky. The UCNS will be displaced from its current location on 42nd and Spruce streets by the new Penn-assisted pre K-8 school, which is slated for a partial opening this fall. The UCNS was scheduled to move to a new location on the ground floor of the Calvary Church at 48th Street and Baltimore Avenue next June. But a zoning hearing last month pointed to occupancy violations in UCNS's potential home, which resulted in $100,000 of unexpected costs. The UCNS, a private school, immediately began a fundraising campaign for the installation of air conditioning and sprinklers -- needed to obtain an occupancy permit -- but has only been able to raise a quarter of this amount. And now, UCNS may have to close due to the inability to raise $75,000 of the necessary $100,000 and low re-enrollment numbers. Yesterday, the UCNS's board declared its intention to vote tomorrow on whether or not to keep the school open. "We're not at the point of closing the New School yet," Kavitsky said. "We're in the midst of struggling to raise the remaining money that we need to renovate the space at Calvary Church." The total relocation costs -- with the recently discovered extra costs -- amount to $450,000. Before learning of the zoning violations, UCNS anticipated only paying $350,000, $150,000 of which was slated to come from a loan. The remaining $200,000 was to be supplied by Penn. UCNS would initially have to take out a loan for the $200,000, and then Penn would reimburse the school. "It's wonderful that [Penn is] giving us the money. It's just problematic how they are giving us the money," Kavitsky said. Penn officials could not be reached for comment last night. The board had put off a final decision until tomorrow to allow for last efforts to save the school, but Kavitsky said that a decision may not be reached tomorrow after all. "We've had some new opportunities that have even come up today so that we will not be making a firm decision tomorrow," Kavitsky said. She declined to discuss these opportunities. If UCNS closes, its students will either attend other private schools or area public schools -- but not necessarily the Penn-assisted school. The Penn-assisted public school will only open its doors this fall to children in kindergarten and first grade. The rest of the grades are scheduled to be phased in over the next couple of years. UCNS parent and visiting Wharton Professor Steve Freeman said that the University should donate the needed $75,000 to keep UCNS open. "The closing is an example of how big organizations make big mistakes by overlooking some area schools," Freeman said. And Kavitsky said not all of UCNS's students could attend the Penn-assisted school if the New School closes. "The other big problem is that the catchment area... is very limited and most of our families don't live within the catchment area,"Kavitsky said. According to Kavitsky, parents have been informed of the possible closing via telephone and through a letter from Betty Ratay, the principal of the UCNS. They have also been asked to re-enroll their children for the next school year and send in their deposit checks earlier than usual. Ordinarily, the enrollment process would not begin until a month from now.