Bd. of Educ. of Garrison Union Free Sch. Dist. v. Greek Archdiocese Inst. of St. Basil

• Decision Date: 20 July 2010
• Citation: 905 N.Y.S.2d 271,75 A.D.3d 569
• Parties: BOARD OF EDUCATION OF the GARRISON UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT, respondent, v. GREEK ARCHDIOCESE INSTITUTE OF ST. BASIL, also known as St. Basil Academy, appellant, et al., defendants.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

905 N.Y.S.2d 271
75 A.D.3d 569

BOARD OF EDUCATION OF the GARRISON UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT, respondent,
v.
GREEK ARCHDIOCESE INSTITUTE OF ST. BASIL, also known as St. Basil Academy, appellant, et al., defendants.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York.

July 20, 2010.

905 N.Y.S.2d 272

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, New York, N.Y. (Gregory A. Horowitz and Julie M. Weiswasser of counsel), for appellant.

Girvin & Ferlazzo, P.C., Albany, N.Y. (Salvatore D. Ferlazzo and Patrick J. Fitzgerald of counsel), for respondent.

STEVEN W. FISHER, J.P., RUTH C. BALKIN, L. PRISCILLA HALL, and LEONARD B. AUSTIN, JJ.

75 A.D.3d 569

In an action, inter alia, for a judgment declaring that the plaintiff is not responsible for the costs of educating the children living at the facility operated by the defendant Greek Archdiocese Institute of St. Basil, also known as St. Basil Academy, who are nonresidents of Garrison, New York, the defendant Greek Archdiocese Institute of St. Basil, also known as St. Basil Academy, appeals from (1) an order of the Supreme Court, Putnam County (O'Rourke, J.), dated June 11, 2008, which granted the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment declaring that the plaintiff is not responsible for the costs of educating the children living at its facility who are nonresidents of Garrison, New York, and (2) an order of the same court, also dated June 11, 2008, which denied its motion for summary judgment declaring that the plaintiff is responsible for the costs of educating the children living at its facility and that it is not the party responsible for financing the education of those children.

75 A.D.3d 570

ORDERED that the orders are affirmed, with one bill of costs, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Putnam County, for the entry of a judgment declaring that the plaintiff is not responsible for the costs of educating the children living at the facility operated by the defendant Greek Archdiocese Institute of St. Basil, also known as St. Basil Academy, who are nonresidents of Garrison, New York.

The defendant Greek Archdiocese Institute of St. Basil, also known as St. Basil Academy (hereinafter St. Basil), was established in 1944, and is located within the boundaries of the Garrison Union Free School District (hereinafter the Garrison school district). St. Basil houses primarily Greek Orthodox children whose parents are deceased or unable to care for them, and many of the children are disabled. Children are typically placed at St. Basil through the efforts of parish priests, as opposed to government entities, and come from all over the United States. Permission to place a child at St. Basil may be revoked by the child's parent or guardian. The record does not reflect that St. Basil has been appointed guardian for any of the children at issue.

905 N.Y.S.2d 273

St. Basil operated its own school until 1997, at which point the school closed and St. Basil sent its children to schools outside of the Garrison school district on a tuition-paying basis. When St. Basil attempted to enroll its children in the Garrison school district in 2002, a hearing officer determined that no child living at St. Basil at that time was a resident of the Garrison school district. The defendant Commissioner of the New York State Education Department (hereinafter the Commissioner) affirmed the determination that the children were nonresidents.

In November 2006, St. Basil received a license from the defendant New York State Office of Children and Family Services (hereinafter OCFS) to...