This Allegany County district is considering sending its students elsewhere. Here's why

Neal Simon, The Evening Tribune
Updated ·2 min read
Whitesville Central School in Allegany County updated its Code of Conduct section on students' cell phones, prohibiting students from having them during the school day.

A teacher shortage could result in an Allegany County public school district sending its high school students to a neighboring district next fall.

The Whitesville Central School Board of Education said in a statement Wednesday that it is directing Superintendent Tammy Emery "to develop an agreement to tuition high school students to Andover Central School, while pursuing options to maintain students at Whitesville Central School.”

Under a tuition agreement, New York State Education regulations would require the Whitesville Central School District to cover the cost of educating its students at Andover's school and to also provide transportation.

The board statement came after a Tuesday night community meeting with district families and stakeholders at the school. Officials outlined the impacts and anticipated remedies for what Emery called "a high level of teacher shortages for grades 9-12."

Whitesville facing teacher shortage

In a June 9 letter announcing the meeting, Emery said the "administration and the Board of Education have been actively recruiting qualified candidates...and planning for possible impacts."

In recent days, Whitesville has advertised for New York state certified applicants for several positions, including a K-12 technology/STEM teacher, a K-12 business education teacher, a grades 7-12 math teacher, a 7-12 ELA teacher, a Spanish teacher as well as substitute teachers and classroom aides and monitors.

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What's next for Whitesville students

Emery said the school board has not made a motion at this time to "tuition our 9th-12th grade students to Andover."

Emery said she, along with school principal Renee K. McNeely, will be reaching out to schedule "round table discussions" with parents and will be "sharing information with our community as we are able."

Emery did not immediately respond to requests for additional comments.

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According to state data for the 2021-22 academic year, Whitesville had a K-12 enrollment of 150 students.

Andover and Whitesville are located about 11 miles apart. The districts have a partnership in athletics, fielding Andover-Whitesville interscholastic sports teams.

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This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Whitesville teacher shortage may send high school students to Andover