Canajoharie, Fort Plain merger up for vote | therecorder

The decision reached at a joint meeting of the school boards on Thursday will send the potential merger of the districts to a straw vote on March 6. Details on the time and location of the non-binding public vote to assess public support for a possible merger will be forthcoming.

“I believe it was the responsible thing to do,” Fort Plain Superintendent Lauren Crisman said Friday. “They’re elected representatives of their community, but should not be sole decision makers. So I think they did their civic duty, which is to acknowledge that this is a decision that belongs with the community.”

The state Education Department requires school districts pursuing possible mergers to conduct a straw vote to gauge community support before authorizing a binding public referendum to reach a final decision.

“The straw vote doesn’t confirm the merger. It just says, OK, we’re interested in going further on it and then there’s a final vote,” said Mark Brody, president of the Canajoharie Board of Education, on Friday. “I don’t know why they need to have two votes. It seems odd to me, but I’m not in the state Education Department.”

A series of public forums will be held over the coming weeks to provide community members more details on the possible merger of the districts and a recently completed feasibility study before ballots are cast in the straw vote.

“We’re going to hold some community forums to ensure everybody has as much information as they can get about the benefits and the challenges so they can make a great informed decision for our students,” Canajoharie Superintendent Nick Fitzgerald said.

School officials largely seem convinced the potential benefits of a merger outweigh the challenges following the completion of a merger feasibility led by consultants from Leadership Solutions Advisers guided by an advisory committee of faculty and community members. The process gathered input from students, staff and local residents.

“Here’s the great thing, we have two very good school districts that are doing great things. Separately, we’re offering kids great opportunities. And separately, we’re doing a great job instructionally, and we’re doing great things for social and emotional learning, but my thought process is, let’s be the best at it,” Fitzgerald said. “And this opportunity could afford that.”

The study found the merger of the districts could expand resources and opportunities for students, 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 amidst labor shortages.

Although the study notes similarities between the districts, it points out there could be challenges to aligning school cultures, curriculum, programs, academic interventions, class sizes, schedules and codes of conduct.

“One of the things I was always worried about with the merger studies was would there be any red flags in there that would really make me want to reconsider the possibility of merger. And I didn’t find any, and I don’t think anyone else did either,” Brody said. “It looks like a very positive step for the students in terms of their education.”

The practical challenges and decisions about a merger related to staffing, bus routes and other operational matters couldn’t be made without future approval of a public referendum and the subsequent election of a new Board of Education to represent the combined district followed by the selection of a superintendent.

However, the feasibility study could serve as a roadmap and advisory committees could provide further input in preparation for the merger that would potentially take effect in July 2026.

“That’ll give us a whole year to really work out all the difficulties and questions and problems and make it a … reasonably smooth transition,” Brody said.

As the public process unfolds, Crisman is encouraging community members to consider current and future needs of the district and its students.

“If they vote no, they need to be ready to support school budgets independently. If they vote yes, they need to be able to support the transition process and engage in the stakeholder committees that would be formed,” Crisman said. “At the heart of this is what’s going to be best for the kids in our community today and in the future, and really having a mindset that you can see beyond the present.”

“The most important thing that needs to happen is that everyone takes time to engage in the upcoming public forums where they can actually participate in discussion,” she added.

If there is initial support for the merger of the districts in the upcoming straw vote, Canajoharie and Fort Plain are eyeing late April for the binding referendum.

Forums on the potential merger will be held on:

• Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. in the Harry Hoag Elementary School cafeteria
• Monday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. in the Canajoharie High School cafeteria
• Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. virtually via Google Meet

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