ELCS-WCS merger report ready for state review

WESTPORT | Presentation of the formal merger study final report to the stakeholder committee last week moves the Westport Central-Elizabethtown-Lewis Central centralization discussion toward school board review. This ends the research phase and begins the voting phase, according to Bill Silky, consultant with Castallo & Silky LLC who led the research team. Elizabethtown-Lewis Central (ELCS) and Westport Central (WCS) schools are considering whether to reorganize into a single Westport-Elizabethtown-Lewis district with approximately 450 students. The consultants did not make any decision to merge. But they provided 16 recommendations for a new district if reorganization moves forward. The recommendations provide a snapshot of what a merged school might look like and offer something of a "road map" forward. Recommendations suggest that it would be "most appropriate" for students pre-kindergarten through Grade 6 to remain in place at their current school buildings in Westport and Elizabethtown. The report suggests that Grades 7 and 8 could be located at a middle school in WCS' existing school building, and that the high school, Grades 9 through 12, could be established at ELCS. In a merged district, the new district's school board "should attempt to develop more elective courses for students at the high school level," according to one recommendation. The final report suggests a new school could be built sometime in the next 10 years at a cost of approximately $50 million. Of that cost, the state would fund 90 percent of new construction, or approximately $45 million. District taxpayers would provide the $5 million balance. Capital project monies could also be used to repair and update both buildings and the school bus garages as they sit without building a new school. Or improvements could be made to prepare buildings for reuse, a step that is allowed with centralization funds. State aid monies at 90 percent funding could also be used solely to build a shared bus garage if the districts merge. Another recommendation says a new school board for a merged district "should develop a financial plan to ensure long-term fiscal stability." Both school budgets this year face increased costs for health insurance. WCS is looking to exceed the tax levy cap recommendation, while ELCS is looking at some 23 percent increase in health insurance costs. Both districts suggest health insurance costs will go up by 8 percent over the next five years, even as state aid resources dwindle. Consultants showed in their research how tax rates might stabilize and potentially decrease in a merged district, using incentive aid as for leverage moving forward. Specifics for use of the current school buildings or for application of state aid would not be spelled out before any merger vote. Tax rates and elective course additions would not be defined before a vote. Details of a merged school budget, teacher salary equalization and bus routes would also not be finalized ahead of a merger vote. As Silky explained, the vote only seeks to find whether individual communities wish to "to work together as one" and rebuild a new school district. "You have to decide if you want the communities to work together in this," Silky said. COMMITTEE RESPONSE A group of 20 stakeholders has been considering school data for many months. Since last summer, 10 residents and school staff from each Westport Central and Elizabethtown-Lewis central schools have reviewed financial, program, facilities, transportation, tax and staffing research numbers. All of the presentations and research date are posted on school websites and available for public review. The committee does not make the decision to merge, but each member shared their thoughts about the eight-month process. Some said they believe a new district could provide more opportunity for area students, while gaining control of costs to taxpayers. Others suggest the state push to combine districts might surface again, even if schools merge. But most said the effort would take a concerted, combined effort of area residents. Jason Feigl, a Westport teacher and longtime resident, said area residents and school boards have to consider what the future of education here looks like. "If the merger does happen, what would it look like? If the merger doesn't happen, what would it look like?" he said. "We are still in the middle of the process." Jim Monty, a committee member and Town of Lewis Supervisor posed a similar rhetorical question: "Look 20 years down the road, where are we going to be? Can we stabilize taxes with a state-of-the-art facility? I like that idea," he said. Judy French, who runs a farm in Wadhams, was glad to be part of the review committee. "I feel like (this discussion) is a good thing for all the taxpayers. We did the study, and I'm thankful to be a part of it." For Paul Buehler, athletic director, physical education teacher and coach for both ELCS and merged Griffins sports teams, said he came into the study pro-merger. "But I am more pro-solution." The solution, he said, must focus on dwindling resources and enrollment that have shed programs for some 20 years at both schools. "I know it's hard for people to think of their alma mater going away...this isn't going to be easy. But I'm ready to go forward and make good tax decisions." Students from both Westport, Alexa Doherty, and ELCS, Keegan Sewell, suggest a merger might broaden educational opportunity for area kids. For Westport resident and retired Westport teacher Scott Gibbs, putting emotional connections to school heritage is easier said than done. "I have a lot of optimism about small schools," he said. "And I see a lot of new families coming in. We've learned how to cooperate and make the best of that cooperation with Elizabethtown. We can't just tell people it's a no-brainer. They have to be able to make that decision for themselves." And, he said, "I have complete confidence that the communities will achieve whatever they set out to do." For Committee Member Ryan Hathaway, who owns property in Elizabethtown and whose wife teaches at Westport, the stakes are high. "New York State wants this," he said, suggesting the state will starve districts or pay them to get ahead of recentralization. "My family has a lot to lose if this goes south," he said. "The hardest part for everybody voting on it is that we don't have a set plan." NEXT STEPS: PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSIONS The merger final report was released to the state Education Department for their approval. Consultants and school administrators are hopeful that state ed will complete their review by June, although it may take until August. After that, school boards will take up the merger discussion. WCS and the ELCS school boards will vote individually whether to move ahead to public information session. If either board votes to end merger discussion, the process stops. If both boards vote to continue, then they would hold public information sessions, working to inform residents in both districts and answer any questions. A non-binding straw poll vote would likely be held in November to see if district taxpayers support a new, combined school district. If the idea to merge is voted down at that time, the process ends. If the straw poll supports continued review, the boards would begin working on a formal proposal, which would go to a final referendum vote in January.

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ELCS-WCS merger report ready for state review

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