What about the Valley School Merger

3. How many current teachers are going to be ready to teach all of these "new electives" by next September and who will teach what we already have in place?

Only the most qualified teachers will be on the staff. That is one advantage of the merger.

4. Who will sit on the school board? Will it be fairly represented by all towns?

Each town will be fairly represented.
Elections will be conducted in each town

5. Who will choose the coaches for sports?

Nothing new here. Coaches would apply for the job and the school board will make a selection.

6. Who will choose what kids play such sports?

Again this is easy. There would be a general try out and the coach would make the selection of team members.

7. How will we afford to purchase all new uniforms for each and every sport in this new school and what will we do with the old?

I have no answer for this question but it seems low priority when compared to the big picture

8. How long will kids be expected to ride the bus when some districts are farther than 10 miles away?

That is a concern, Traveling from West Frankfort to Herkimer is a long bus ride, especially in the winter

1. What class school would this merge make us and who would we play in sporting events?

Without knowing the numbers I could only guess. We would be A, AA, or AAA.
We would play New Hartford, Whitesboro, Rome, Oneida to name a few.

3. What does it mean for homeowners and their property values with the nearest school being so far away?

Remember each village will have a school.
Taxes will go down and property values are unknown.

4. What does it mean for local businesses who rely on income from kids going to lunch in their respective towns and people coming in from out of town for sporting events, etc.,? If we don't have the activities or the schools, where will the business come from?

Need to think about this concern. Will attempt to address it later.

Ilion Mom wrote:

The Ilion school system has both a Superintendent (Tangorra) and an Assistant Superintendent (Dr. Mays-Smith). Is it just us that has both? If, so I'm wondering why our Superintendent can't manage the job on his own.

A very good question.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, although some are still a HUGE concern. Hopefully you can understand the concern. Will be interested to see what actually happens. Did you happen to hear on the news this week that the state is currently rethinking the formula that the Board of Regents uses to formulate how much money each district is given? Isn't this the very formula that got us into this mess in the first place? If they reconsidered the formula and each school district was alotted a more fair amount, would the merger still go forward? THIS is where our politicians should be aggressively working for us by the way, besides job creation, etc.,

Resident wrote:

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, although some are still a HUGE concern. Hopefully you can understand the concern. Will be interested to see what actually happens. Did you happen to hear on the news this week that the state is currently rethinking the formula that the Board of Regents uses to formulate how much money each district is given? Isn't this the very formula that got us into this mess in the first place? If they reconsidered the formula and each school district was alotted a more fair amount, would the merger still go forward? THIS is where our politicians should be aggressively working for us by the way, besides job creation, etc.,

What is your biggest concern?
I have no information concerning the "formula".
Are you voicing your concerns with our politicians?

1. Fewer children will participate in sports and other extracurricular activities because there will be one of each replacing four of each as it currently is.
2. The larger school population will require security guards like Utica and other large schools districts, so add to the costs on that one.
3. Larger class sizes mean less attention to each childs needs.
4. Cost of busing will skyrocket, especially with gas prices continually on the rise
5. Temporary increases in state aid to help with the merger and then we'll be picking up the tab for everything
6. Continued reduction in state aid to our school system and county, hence increased taxes for property taxes
7. This is a no win proposition for all home owners paying taxes. People are already paying between 3200-7000 in home taxes a year already with one of the lowest median household incomes in the state.
8. Time to supplement school property tax with an additional state income tax or sales tax so everyone pays.
9. Why in gods name would Frankfort, Ilion and Mohawk resident want to pay outrageous National Grid electric bills in Herkimer and Little Falls?

Mayor Hanna wrote:

2. How many students per classroom?
There are standards for classroom sizes. I am sure the merger will fall within standards and state guide lines.

There really are not any serious repercussiions for school districts that dont't follow the law. Look at Ilion with the illegally large reserve fund.

1. Fewer children will participate in sports and other extracurricular activities because there will be one of each replacing four of each as it currently is.

Remember life is not fair. Only the best athletes will play against other schools. I am sure others will play within the school system and against each other. The merger will provide more opportunities for students to excel in language, arts, music, and science.

2. The larger school population will require security guards like Utica and other large schools districts, so add to the costs on that one.

Welcome to the real world, its not ilke when you went to school. I believe each system has a security plan in place now, so cost should not increase

3. Larger class sizes mean less attention to each childs needs.

I agree, but merger does not mean larger class sizes.

4. Cost of busing will skyrocket, especially with gas prices continually on the rise

I don't have the facts about busing if you do please share with the rest of us.

5. Temporary increases in state aid to help with the merger and then we'll be picking up the tab for everything

Thats true but the children will have a better educational experience.

6. Continued reduction in state aid to our school system and county, hence increased taxes for property taxes

Thats true with or without the merger.