Worcester-Schenevus merger rejected

The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·2 min read

Dec. 2—The proposed annexation merger of Schenevus with the Worcester Central School District was soundly rejected by Schenevus voters on Wednesday, Dec. 1.

The 509-254 vote in the district ended a process that began more than two years ago.

Wednesday's vote was the final say in the proposed annexation merger, which would have combined the two districts into one under the leadership of the Worcester board and superintendent.

Worcester voters approved the proposal, 298-162, but the process requires a majority of voters in both districts to be able to move forward. Had the Schenevus vote been in favor, Worcester would have annexed Schenevus at the start of the 2022-23 school year.

"The voters have made it clear that merger is not the direction they want our district to go at this time, but we look forward to continuing to collaborate with Worcester in the future," Schenevus Superintendent Theresa Carlin said in a media release.

State education law permits the Schenevus Central School District to put the merger to a re-vote in one year's time if the Board of Education chooses to do so. If no re-vote is scheduled, the outcome of the vote is final and the districts will not merge.

This is at least the fifth time the two districts have conducted a merger study; records indicate that merger studies were also undertaken in 1974, 1982, 1989 and 1996.

"We are grateful to everyone who participated in this process and shared their feedback, particularly the members of our Merger Study Committee," Worcester CSD Superintendent Tim Gonzales said. "While we know this outcome will be disappointing to many of those who worked to support the merger, we hope that spirit of support will continue."

The proposed merger passed a preliminary vote in September, and the plan was explained in further detail during a Nov. 16 public forum, where residents heard from the Schenevus and Worcester board presidents about the merger and listened as Capital Region BOCES Public Information Specialist Emily Popek outlined the two boards' Statement of Shared Commitments.

In it, the boards agreed:

—both buildings will be used after the merger;

—the building in Schenevus would keep its name, colors and mascot;

—federal stimulus money would be consolidated into the merged district;

—Schenevus would be responsible for buying out Schenevus Superintendent Teresa Carlin's contract and the new district would renegotiate Worcester Superintendent Tim Gonzales' contract;

—employment will be offered to any Schenevus employees who wish to come to Worcester;

—Worcester pay rates will be raised to a level comparable to Schenevus pay rates;

—a student transition team will be formed to oversee all aspects of student life in a merged district;

—one valedictorian and one salutatorian each for both districts will be honored for the first two years of the merger.