LOWER EAST SIDE — A Lower East Side charter school that had been planning to move to Governors Island this year has opted stay in the neighborhood instead.
Great Oaks Charter School officials declined to say where they hope to move, explaining that negotiations with the landlord were not finalized. The new location however, will be “relatively close” to its current spot at 1 Monroe St., said Jean Lombardi, the external affairs director of the Great Oaks Foundation.
“Our goal is to continue the same population of students that we’re serving now,” she said.
According to a charter revision request filed on Feb. 20, Great Oaks plans to move from Community Education Council District 2, which covers the Village, SoHo and a small portion of the Lower East Side, to District 1, which covers the Lower East Side and East Village.
The move would not preclude anyone who currently attends the school from going to the new campus.
The 200-student school, which offers sixth and seventh grades, is seeing its population increase and there is not enough room to host another grade at the current building, Lombardi said.
Officials hope to eventually add an eighth grade in the new building, she added.
“We’re growing out of our space,” she said. The school’s charter allows it to teach sixth to ninth grades, Lombardi said.
Great Oaks hopes to move this summer, but it was unclear when a decision will be made regarding the request, a state education spokeswoman said.
School officials said they wanted to move to Governors Island this year but they lost out on a bid to open a campus there.
It was unclear if there would be a public hearing on the move in either district, according to Lombardi and the NYSED spokeswoman.
The city Department of Education did not respond to an inquiry about public comment.
Great Oaks Charter School opened two years ago in the former St. James & St. Joseph Elementary School. The charter school network also has locations in New Jersey, Connecticut and an upcoming school in Delaware.
