August 6, 2006
RUMORS DELAY IVY RIDGE'S RECOGNITION
By CHRIS GARIFO
TIMES ALBANY CORRESPONDENT
ALBANY -- The state Education Department has put a hold on whether it will permit the Academy at Ivy Ridge to operate as a private high school.
The state Board of Regents had been scheduled to consider the behavior modification center for troubled teens' application during its regularly scheduled meeting in July, but the item was pulled from the agenda. It is also uncertain whether the application will be included in the board's September meeting agenda.
"We still have questions about their program," said Thomas Dunn, a department spokesman.
The board's delays in considering the application apparently have caused great concern to Ivy Ridge's director, Jason G. Finlinson.
He has written to the school's supporters asking them to petition Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills and Interim Deputy Commissioner of Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education Jean Stephens to place Ivy Ridge's application on the board's September agenda.
"We were also informed by the NYS Dept. of Education that although there is nothing amiss with our application, we were being passed over due to 'rumors' within the state about the Academy," Mr. Finlinson wrote in his July 25 letter.
Delays in Ivy Ridge's registration as a state-recognized private secondary school could threaten the facility's future in the north country, Mr. Finlinson suggested.
"It is imperative we complete the application process as quickly as possible to prevent further damage to Academy at Ivy Ridge and the local economy," he wrote.
The academy, on Route 37 just west of Ogdensburg, ran afoul of the state more than a year ago when Attorney General Eliot. L. Spitzer began investigating what were found to be fraudulent claims by the school that it was accredited and thus could issue New York high school diplomas.
As a result of that investigation, Ivy Ridge agreed to pay nearly $1.5 million in refunds and fines. The agreement also resulted in a federal class-action suit, filed late last month in Syracuse, by former students and their parents seeking $100 million in punitive damages.
Another suit, to be filed in state court, is being contemplated. It will claim students were physically injured while attending Ivy Ridge.
