HCS Receives State Merger Study Grant

RFH 2010, Featured Articles, 1 + 1 = 1: HCS, MECS Merger

Thu, Sep 01, 2011

Ten months after its application was made, HCS finds out it will receive money from the state to study a possible merger.

It's back.

The possibility of HCS merging with the Morrisville-Eaton Central School district is once again a topic of conversation just as the new academic year is about to begin. The district learned Tuesday the state is providing a $35,000 grant to study a potential merger.

HCS Superintendent Dr. Diana Bowers told a group of community leaders interested in the district's financial condition Wednesday that she was in an interview with a potential new hire when she was summoned to the phone by someone in the Governor's office.

Bowers said a similar state grant has been approved for the Madison and Stockbridge Valley districts to study a possible merger.

At Wednesday's meeting, Bowers went out of her way to repeat several things:

The grant is to study a possible merger, and the facts that are developed could very well suggest joining the two school is not a good idea;
The community is involved in every aspect of the process, which officials have said in the past could take as much as 18 months to complete.
Facts gathered in the study can be used to improve both districts or lead to other changes regardless of whether a merger goes forward.
The entire process will be open and transparent. Bowers said there will be frequent meetings and opportunities for district residents to ask questions and voice opinions.
The consulting firm hired by the two districts will not make a recommendation on a possible merger. They will simply present their findings and the two boards of education and their respective communities will decide what happens afterward.

A meeting is schedued for Sept. 9 to discuss next steps for the study. Three firms responded to the two districts' request for proposals.

Check back for more details.

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