The Watkins Glen School District is taking the first step toward exploring a potential consolidation with the Bradford Central School District.
The Odessa File reports that at Monday night’s Watkins Glen School Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Kai D’Alleva received approval to begin formal discussions with Bradford officials about what a merger between the two neighboring districts could look like.
D’Alleva noted that New York State continues to encourage the regionalization of school districts, offering incentive funds worth tens of millions of dollars to those that consolidate. In the case of a Watkins-Bradford merger, the total incentive could exceed $50 million, spread over 15 years.
Still, he emphasized that the primary focus would be maintaining, and possibly expanding, opportunities for students in academics and athletics during what he called “an era of rapid change.”
Enrollment declines in Watkins Glen illustrate that change: the district has dropped from 1,141 students in 2014-15 to 913 this year, nearly a 20 percent loss. Bradford, with just over 200 students, has remained stable.
D’Alleva said he began informal conversations with Bradford Superintendent John Marshall about 18 months ago. Since then, board officers from both districts have joined in, though nothing has been formalized until now.
Moving toward consolidation would require a lengthy process, including an independent merger study, approval by both school boards, and votes by residents in each district.
Questions remain, particularly about the impact on existing athletic merger agreements. Watkins Glen currently shares several sports teams with Odessa-Montour, while Bradford has combined programs with Dundee. D’Alleva said he expects the Odessa-Montour partnership to continue regardless of consolidation talks.
Bradford School announced that a public meeting will take place on October 7 at 6:00 PM in the school’s cafeteria to share information on the state of the Bradford CSD and its desire to engage in conversation about a potential centralization with the Watkins Glen.
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