How many students will Whitesville send to Andover under tuition agreement? What we know
Ninth-grade and tenth-grade Whitesville Central School students will attend classes in Andover during the 2023-24 academic year under a tuition arrangement announced by the neighboring Allegany County public school districts.
The Whitesville Central School Board of Education recently approved a tuition agreement with Andover Central School for students in grades 9 and 10 after a lack of viable recruits emerged for a significant number of key teaching positions at Whitesville, district officials said.
“Our administration and Board of Education had very candid conversations with our school community about how to best serve students in response to our ongoing teacher shortages,” Tammy Emery, Whitesville superintendent, said in a release Tuesday.
“While our first choice was to recruit qualified candidates for our students, our top priority is making sure our students continue to receive the high level of academic rigor and support they deserve – and this agreement accomplishes that.”
Emery said Whitesville's freshman and sophomore classes have a total of nine students. The tuition arrangement will allow those Whitesville students to attend Andover Central School each day for their coursework. Transportation and support services will be coordinated and no changes to athletics will occur.
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This isn't the first time the neighboring schools have collaborated. Long-time friendly but intense rivals in interscholastic athletics, the districts currently have combined teams for high school sports, with the Andover-Whitesville girls basketball program earning back-to-back Section V, D2 championships in 2022 and 2023.
Whitesville-Andover agreement will be reevaluated next spring
Emery added that the support from Andover Central has been helpful as various options were considered.
“We thank the administration and Board of Education at Andover Central School for their support and flexibility and plan to evaluate the solution in the spring to determine if this agreement will be ongoing," she said.
Andover Superintendent Jennifer Joyce said the success of the shared athletic program is a testament to their ability to work together.
"Andover Central School welcomes this group of new, yet familiar, students with open arms and expects nothing but a smooth transition," Joyce said in the news release.
Emery said the cost is still being determined, however, the tuition amount may not exceed what may be charged under New York State Education Law and the commissioner’s regulations.
Under a tuition agreement, New York State Education regulations require Whitesville Central to cover the cost of educating its students at Andover and to also provide transportation.
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In June, the Whitesville School Board directed Emery "to develop an agreement to tuition high school students to Andover Central School, while pursuing options to maintain students at Whitesville Central School.”
This came after Whitesville school officials told community members that the district was experiencing "a high level of teacher shortages for grades 9-12."
According to state data for the 2021-22 academic year, Whitesville had a K-12 enrollment of 150 students, while Andover was at about 240.
Andover and Whitesville are located approximately 11 miles apart.
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This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Lacking teachers, Whitesville reaches tuition agreement with Andover
