SCHOOL KICKOFF SET: Bay Valley International Academy Starts in Fall: Barcia
March 15, 2014
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(Left) Larry Balli, founder and chief executive of the International Schools Development Foundation. (Right) James A. Barcia, former state legislator and 5-term Member of Congress, now a representative of The Livingston Group.
Mid-Michigan's newest higher education program reportedly will involve foreign students and two area major institutions of higher education.
Several dozen, or more, students from Delta College and Saginaw Valley State University, will be housed at the Bay Valley International Academy next fall, says Jim Barcia, former state senator and Member of Congress.
Barcia, who represents Lawrence L. Balli, of Lansing, chief executive of the International Schools Development Foundation, said 90 of the 148 rooms at the Bay Valley Resort Hotel are being renovated and retrofitted with technology for academic use.
Mr. Balli has been a teacher and administrator in international schools since 1972 and is a former principal of Jakarta International School, one of the largest such schools in the world.
The International Schools Foundation lists an address at 3511 Coolidge Road, East Lansing. It is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 charitable organization.
Bay Valley Resort and Conference Center was sold at auction in 2011 for a reported $2.5 million to the International School Development Foundation (ISDF). The ISD has continued to operate the hotel and golf course while planning for the school program progressed.
Mr. Barcia for the past several years has been a senior counselor for The Livingston Group, of Washington, D.C. After a long state legislative career, he served five terms in Congress until forced out by redistricting in 2002. He returned to the state senate until term limited in 2011.
He is a native of Bay City, graduate of Central High and Saginaw Valley State University.
ISF is in the process of establishing Bay Valley International Academy as a transitional program for foreign students who wish to refine their English language skills and adapt to life in the USA prior to matriculation.
Students will attend their respective colleges and will receive tutoring and cultural counseling at Bay Valley, according to Mr. Barcia, who has served as a lobbyist for several organizations since leaving Congress.
Barcia said he expects nearly half the 90 newly renovated rooms to be filled with international students from a variety of countries next fall. The recruitment process will continue as the program is planned for incremental growth, he said.
The college and the university are reported poised to make a public announcement, perhaps as early as next week, according to one local education official.
The program has been several years in development and has been delayed by financing issues concerned with the fact that the facility has a golf course, which creates a barrier for banks, and international red tape regarding money transfers, according to Barcia.
The taxation status of the resort facility is uncertain, with the Bay County tax query showing delinquent taxes of $108,744 as of March 14. The last tax paid was December 2012. Summer bills are about $89,000 and winter bills are about $16,000.
The International School Foundation (also registered as the International School Development Foundation) is a not-for-profit foundation established in Lansing, Michigan, USA, as a 501c3 charitable foundation, philanthropic contributions to which may be claimed against U.S. taxes.
The stated mission of the Foundation is "to assist in the management and development of small international schools with a U.S. orientation in locations having a sustainable population for school development."
The ISF also has an interest in educational programs in the United States that would attract international students. ISF has assisted with the establishment of schools in Australia, China, Indonesia and South Africa.
These programs include:
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