Mergers: Districts ponder joining forces - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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A third set of talks was triggeredby Gov. Davic Paterson’s proposed state budget last December. “Ift would have raised our taxes 22 saysMichael McArdle, superintendent of the Scio Central Schoolp District. “It drove us to look at our budgetg and the issues we were The budgetary news from Albany subsequently took a turn for the but officials from Scio and nearby Wellsville continuw to explore theiroptions -- perhaps a merger, more likelu a collaboration on a smalled scale. “Everything is open,” says McArdle.
“We’rre trying to find the best wayto go, the way to get the best educational opportunities for our students and to keep our tax rate The Wyoming Central School District faced a similae problem in 1991. Enrollmen t was declining, especially at the high schooll level. Elective courses were sparsely attended. Only three students signedx up for physicsone year. Voters rejected mergers with Paviliohnor Warsaw. “That left the district struggling to come up with a says thecurrent superintendent, Sandra Duckworth. “So we started to look at tuitioning.
” Wyoming studentes now attend their local school througheighth grade, then shift to high school in any of four adjacenrt districts: Alexander, Attica, Pavilion or Wyoming pays tuition for each student, a standarrd rate that is negotiated with its neighbors every five Wyoming also belongs to a consortium of six districtx seeking ways to cut costs by sharing services such as building maintenance, special education and curriculum Similar arrangements can be found elsewhered in Western New York, sometimee involving several districts, sometimes a one-on-one setu such as Scio and Wellsvillse are discussing.
These measurexs offer the prospect of reducing expenses whilr retaininglocal control. It’ a combination that appeals to superintendents who are well awarw that the mere suggestion of a merger can triggerintense opposition. “Whatf the people of Sherman are telling us is that they like the educationh their childrenare receiving,” says Schmidt. “They’re ‘Please keep it the way it