1 Golden Bomber Dr.
Ilion, NY 13357
Phone: 315.894.9934
Fax: 315.894.2716
Superintendent
Three-school merger study progresses
Following the defeat of the proposed four-school merger on Jan. 19, the boards of education of the Herkimer, Ilion and Mohawk central school districts agreed to move forward with a three-school proposal. Using the data collected in the previous study, merger consultants SES Study Team expect to submit a revised study to the NYS Education Department by early May. If all goes as expected, the final report will be approved and ready to present to the communities early this summer in time for a straw vote this September.
Same process as before
SES began by looking at the data from the original study.
“The majority of the work completed in the last study is still valid. We still have the same buildings, same procedures, etc.,” said Superintendent Cosimo Tangorra, Jr.
“The consultants went back over the old study looking for anything that may have changed such as enrollment, class offerings and each district’s finances. They then handed that new information to the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to review and to use in helping the districts develop a new proposal.”
The CAC is made up of the 48 original Ilion, Herkimer and Mohawk committee members, 16 from each school district. The group includes residents from all segments of the community—parents, grandparents, people without children, retirees, business owners, etc.
It had been suggested that new members be included in the new study, but the boards of education opted to stay with the existing group.
“These volunteers spent nine months on the last study and were familiar with the information and the format. It made more sense to build on their experience than to take additional time to train a new group of people,” said Mr. Tangorra.
Time was especially important to the boards. One of the concerns expressed in the last study was the short time between the possible merger approval in February and the start of operations as a merged district in July, just four months. Under the current proposed schedule, residents would vote on the statutory or binding referendum in mid-October giving the new district eight months to work out details such as schedules, bus runs and curriculum.
Imagining a new district
Compared with the original plan, merging three schools will mean 22 percent fewer students, 33 percent smaller geography and fewer buildings. In addition, each district has used most or all of its fund balance to close the funding gap created by rising costs and the continued loss of state aid. The final proposal will reflect these changes.
Another major change in this proposal is the detailed academic curriculum. The high school guidance departments of each district listed the subjects each district currently offers as well as those that were lost to budget cuts. That combined list of courses greatly expands those offered separately in the schools.
Also new is the addition of two on-site school resource officers to improve the security in the middle and high schools.
Please check back to our website for the latest news and updates.
