The Consolidation Fesibility Study Begins.

Last evening the combined Boards of Education of the Hamilton and the Morrisville-Eaton School Districts met to begin the Consolidation Feasibility Study that will occur between the two districts. Recently, the districts received a grant from New York State to hire a consultant group to conduct the study. The district hired the SES Advisory Group to conduct the study and collect the information that will be used, per NYSED guidelines, over the next year or so.

The SES Group began the study by sharing the “particulars about the study" and pulling together the collective wisdom and questions from the Boards and the Superintendents. Also discussed, were the roles of the Steering Committee, the Community Advisory Committee, the timeline, the process for data collection, and their dedication to transparency throughout the process.

Specific categories of questions surfaced. A sample of the questions and the categories are listed below:

Finance:

How can we continue to provide excellent opportunities for students with the financial difficulties our schools are facing?

Program:

What are the present program gaps that we have created over the past few years as the result of statewide financial difficulties?

Community:

How can we foster goodwill between the communities throughout the process regardless of the outcome?

Governance:

What will the governance/ administrative makeup of a new district look like?

Co-curriculars and Sports:

Will the merger of the two districts impact a student’s athletic or co-curricular opportunities? Will it put us in a new competitive class?

A total of approximately 30 questions were posed. SES will now take these questions and compile them into similar categories. A similar process will also occur when our Community Advisory Committee forms. A compilation of both groups will be made public before we begin to explore these questions and collect the related data.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the advisory committee, please download the application found on the Community Merger Study link on our website. We look forward to hearing from you.