A state commission has made a recommendation for school districts whose student population continues to decline, and it's a suggestion that some local superintendents are not dismissing.

A report released in June by the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief, stated that of the 700 school districts throughout the state, over 500 have fewer than 3,000 students. It proposed that the consolidation of small districts into ones with at least 3,000 students would not only improve academics, but also be more fiscally responsible.

With student enrollment dropping steadily in all school districts within the Cayuga-Onondaga Board of Cooperative Educational Services and financial resources becoming scarce, some superintendents believe that there could be a consolidation of local districts sometime in the future if enrollment trends do not reverse.

At the same time, they view it as a continuation of a process they've already begun to employ using BOCES and the services it offers.

Two years ago, the Auburn Enlarged City School District and the Jordan-Elbridge Central School District expressed interested to BOCES about having a shared business office to process payroll and accounts payable, BOCES Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Dave Boyle said.

That spawned the Central Business Office, under the auspices of BOCES, to which currently five districts - Auburn, Jordan-Elbridge, Moravia, Port Byron, Southern Cayuga and Union Springs - subscribe.

“I think it stands as a great example of a cooperation in our county that has reduced the cost for our taxpayers and resulted in an enhanced operation for our school districts,” Boyle said. “It's an example of what people should expect.”

Jordan-Elbridge Superintendent Marilyn Dominick believes that shared services like the CBO are indicative of the ever-changing environment within the education structure.

“I think it's things like this that are precursors to what I believe will eventually happen, and that's full consolidation of school districts.”

Indeed, the report - also known as the Suozzi Report after the commission's chairman, Thomas Suozzi - noted that New York's education structure of 700 districts is in contrast to states that use a countywide system, like Florida, which has 67 districts.

The report maintains that larger districts could “take advantage of the economies of scale and administrative and operational efficiencies.” Also, larger districts could provide additional opportunities to students by offering a more diverse array of courses and more class sections.

“I could see a study of our nine districts,” Dominick said. “Could they be divided north and south and combined? I'm not saying that I'm promoting that, but I think things like that will be intense topics of conversation and probably should be.”

But Dominick, who also serves as a regional director for the Rural Schools Association of New York State, an advocacy group for rural school districts and taxpayers, noted that consolidation is not currently on the table and would not happen overnight.

“I don't know if it would even be in the next decade that we would look at complete consolidation, so those two or three districts who are naturally close to each other geographically would become one district,” she said. “But I do think there will be consolidation of a lot of other things within the geographic region.”

BOCES Superintendent Bill Speck said that districts might turn to BOCES in the future for shared transportation services or increase the prevalence of the Distance Learning program, which allows students and teachers to interact in real-time between classrooms no matter how far away.

Full consolidation, he said, is often a political issue, as loyalty to autonomous districts is entrenched within boards of education and the community it serves.

“But when looking at the times ahead, at some point you have to look at bare facts and see the writing on the wall while also making good decisions for kids,” he said.

Southern Cayuga Central School District Superintendent Mary Kay Worth certainly understands the community ramifications of combining districts, especially since she leads a district formed 40 years ago as a consolidation.

“We've come to learn that it will take generations before people accept that Southern Cayuga is the school in southern Cayuga County,” she said.

Additional to school spirit, she noted that school buildings are difficult to convert for other businesses and are oftentimes abandoned.

“It's hard that you still have empty buildings in the community,” she said. “It's a real issue and a real problem no matter where you are.”

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or Alyssa.sunkin@lee.net

One man's opinion :

Combine them all

The Taxpayer Watchblog at auburnpub.com has advocated for a single Cayuga County school district, modeled after systems in states such as Maryland.

Read his proposals and debate them with him at auburnpub.com/blogs.