Head of the Harbor approves expansion for St. James private school

Head of the Harbor Village has approved plans for a St. James private school to expand as it looks to build larger classrooms and a new STEAM center.

The village planning board approved the plan from Harbor Country Day School during its Oct. 1 meeting following a monthslong review of the school's final proposal for a new building and bus loop.

The school’s small building size and configuration has posed challenges, according to administrators. Classroom space is limited, and students' desks are too small, Andy Sperling, head of school for Harbor Country Day School, has said. At times, the school has had to fit up to three classes in different parts of the building's former library and basement area. School officials have struggled to find space for guidance counselors and administrators.

With the approvals in hand, Sperling said the school needs to secure building permits to move forward with the project. The expansion is expected to be funded through private donations, administrators have said.

"This is a tenuous and exciting time," Sperling said in a statement. "I will always respect and honor the process as well as our generous donors." 

 As part of the plan, the school will build a new STEAM center for science, technology, engineering, arts and math programs. The new building will include an art room, auditorium, as well as a new library and a music and drama room. 

Harbor Country Day School opened in 1957 on the grounds of the former Tulip Knoll estate. The property is the former home of William A. Minott, heir to Goodyear Rubber Manufacturing Co.

Sperling said the vote was the "last step in the approval process." 

Harlan Fischer, the village's planning board chairman, said the school adequately addressed questions about traffic and safety on Three Sisters Road. Some residents raised concerns during village board meetings over the summer about the potential for traffic problems along that road.

"Everything that they said that they were going to do, and everything our consultants asked them to do, they’re doing," Fischer said.