ROSCOE – The Livingston Manor and Roscoe Central School Districts’ Boards of Education met Tuesday evening to vote on the hiring of a consulting firm to conduct a merger study for the two schools.

This is not the first time that the two districts have conducted a merger study, with the most recent study consultation happening in 1994-95.

John Evans, the shared superintendent of both districts, received confirmation on December 15 of a grant that was awarded to the districts to undertake the merger study.

The two boards met in the “Coach” Fred Ahart Gymnasium in Roscoe to have an informational meeting with the public about what the study will entail.

The consulting firm hired to conduct the study is Castallo and Silky Education Consultants LLC, and the project is being spearheaded by Alan Pole and Deb Ayers, who gave a presentation at the meeting to highlight a few things to consider about the possible merger between the two districts.

After both Boards voted to hire the consultants, Pole and Ayers began their presentation, which discussed benefits, concerns, outcomes and financial considerations of the potential merger, before opening the floor for questions.

Highlighted in the presentation were some causes for concern that exist with reorganization, including a fear of losing local identity, job security, resistance to change and less personal attention to students. However, they explained that there are also many potential upsides to combining the two districts, including an increase in variety of classes offered to students, the potential to upgrade facilities and equipment, financial incentives from New York State and the potential for reduced taxes.

“We’re not here to make sure something comes together.” Alan Pole explained. “We are here to come up with a study of what works best for the two districts, we aren’t here to sell a merger.”

The next step for the two districts is to appoint a committee that will work together with the consulting firm, to outline the merger study and answer questions from each community. The meetings begin in March, with the sixth and final meeting scheduled for July 25, 2022.

The dates outlined for the meetings are tentative, and with each meeting, they will rotate between school districts. Tuesday’s meeting was in Roscoe and the next one will be in Livingston Manor.

It is important to note that although there are both potential upsides and difficulties that exist within the realm of reorganization, the study is being undertaken to paint a clearer picture of the potential within the merger, and what the two communities should expect should the vote to merge pass.

On the topic of voting, each school district will have to go through three separate rounds of voting, for a total of six passed votes, for the merger to begin. After the study is completed, both Livingston Manor and Roscoe’s Boards of Education will have to vote whether or not to bring the idea of the merger to their communities. At that point, both communities will vote separately on an advisory referendum. If those pass then, pending state approval, there will be a binding referendum for both communities to vote on, and only if those pass will the schools begin the merger process.

The timeline between the three rounds of voting should be drafted by the first committee meeting on March 1.

During the question and answer segment of the meeting, the consultants made it clear that the study would just be used as a guideline.

“The study carries a lot of weight with the State Department of Education. Decisions get made and one step leads to the next, but there is no guarantee that the study will be followed exactly,” Alan Pole said.

Concerns Addressed by Consultants

During the question and answer segment of the meeting, the consultants heard questions from the community about the merging process.

One of the first questions raised was about the history of the districts and their legacies. The response was that, in the parameters of the study, they are not looking to name the new district or to decide on a mascot. As far as the legacies of the schools go, for both the Blue Devils and the Wildcats, it will be up to the new district to find ways to preserve the history, should the two communities vote to proceed with the merger.

Another concern that was raised was the reasoning for undertaking the study. Are one of the schools in danger of shutting down? 

“The short answer is no.” Superintendent John Evans said. “Both schools have seen a decline in enrollment and classes are getting smaller, so if that trend continues then it will be harder to do what we need to do for the students.”

Although the merger in 1994-95 did not pass, the two schools have still been sharing with each other in the years since.

“Sharing between the two districts is great, but it doesn’t carry the financial weight that a merger would, which would hopefully allow us to offer more opportuities to students,” John Evans said in an interview after the event.