The Canajoharie and Fort Plain school districts plan to put forward another straw vote on merging.

In the spring, a similar initial advisory referendum was narrowly defeated. But on Wednesday, school boards from both districts held a joint meeting at Fort Plain High School. They voted to try again after reviewing recommendations from a panel formed over the summer to consider how the districts should move forward.

“Our board has had a number of discussions since that vote, where we’ve gone over the pluses and minuses of a merger, and we see compelling reasons why a merger would do what we are here to do, which is to do the best we can for our kids and for our districts, and so we would be very much in favor of moving forward with another effort,” Canajoharie Board of Education President Mark Brody said.

The panel of faculty, administrators and school board members recommended continuing efforts to bring a binding vote on a merger by March.

Voter approval of an advisory referendum or a petition demonstrating sufficient community support for a proposed merger is required before the state Education Department will consider authorizing a binding public referendum.

Previous Straw Poll

Approximately 52% of voters opposed the districts merging during the previous non-binding straw poll in March. The measure was rejected by a vote of 318 to 286 in Canajoharie and 206 to 191 in Fort Plain.

School officials have been clear that the districts have up to a year to revisit the issue and seek enough support for a binding referendum.

Defeat in a binding vote would require the districts to wait a year and undertake a new merger study before initiating another effort.

“I do think that there was a level of misunderstanding” in the straw vote, Fort Plain Board of Education President Sara McDuffee said. “For my community, a lot of people thought if the straw vote did not pass, the issue was dead forever for this merger study.”

Still, McDuffee said officials need to clearly explain the renewed effort and step up outreach efforts. She noted attendance at public forums in each district was sparse and superintendents lacked support when they met with community groups and organizations.

Although the board members initially discussed pursuing a petition, McDuffee argued that doing so could create a public perception that the districts were trying to go through the “back door” to get what they want, causing residents to be unreceptive to future discussions.

“I think people in our communities need to feel like they are part of the process, actively, that their questions are being answered, that their votes did matter,” McDuffee said.

Feasibility Study

A merger feasibility study conducted last year found that the union could expand resources and opportunities for students and staff, support long-term financial sustainability through a larger tax base and increased state aid, provide economies of scale, and eliminate competition between the rural districts amid labor shortages.

However, the study also found there could be challenges to aligning school cultures, curriculum, programs, academic interventions, class sizes, schedules and codes of conduct despite similarities between the districts in terms of enrollment, populations, budgets and tax rates.

Officials were cautious during the previous effort about stating positions due to confusion over whether that was permitted by state guidelines. And, the inability of districts to set out concrete merger plans before a binding vote had been another barrier.

“You can talk about what you think should happen,” HFM BOCES Superintendent David Ziskin clarified. “And you’ve got a great resource in your merger study as a starting point.”

Canajoharie Superintendent Nick Fitzgerald has made clear his support for a merger due in part to the opportunities it would afford students, while providing long-term stability to the districts, as declining enrollment, coupled with flat or shrinking revenue, could spell trouble in the future should the districts remain independent.

Fort Plain Interim Superintendent Karen Geelan likewise argued that expanded opportunities from a merger would ensure students can compete when they move on to college and careers, and that strengthening the districts would benefit the community at large. She was appointed last month to lead the district following the departure of former superintendent Lauren Crisman.

“With the infrastructure that’s kept up and has state-of-the-art facilities, then you’re attracting families and businesses to the area. So it’s not just providing for those who are here, it’s keeping an eye on our future as a region and being a beacon for people and families to........

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