ROCKLAND — After both the Livingston Manor and Roscoe communities voted down a centralization merger straw vote in 2022, the two school districts met Monday night for a joint Board of Education meeting with guest speaker New York State Senator Peter Oberacker (NY-51).

Enrollments in both districts has continued to decline, forecasted changes to Foundation Aid from the State, and a massive increase in Incentive Operating Aid led the two boards to revisit the merger now.

“By having these discussions now, you get to control your destiny,” Senator Oberacker said. “You can negotiate and create, take the driver seat and offer more opportunities through better planning. The children are the most important thing.”

By choosing to revisit a centralization merger now instead of down the road, the study completed in 2022 is still usable, it just needed to be amended and updated to 2024 numbers rather than paying for an entirely new study.

As was the case in 2022, the two districts already share a number of services, both at the administrative level and with sports.

Superintendent John Evans posed a few questions including, “If we’re doing all these things together already, what more can we do?”, “Are we preparing our students well enough?” and “Can we offer more together?”

For one, the increase of Incentive Aid from $7,181,305 to $30,709,438 over 14 years is a start. The financial benefits of the merger also include an Incentive Building Aid ratio, which would be 89.4 percent for the first 10 years after the merger for all approved and allowable capital improvement projects. At the end of the 10 years, the potential new district’s rate for aid would lower to 68.8 percent, which is Livingston Manor’s current rate.

In comparing numbers to 2022, both schools have seen a decline in enrollment and an increase in students leaving during the day to attend off-campus classes at BOCES. Now, 79 percent of Roscoe’s juniors and seniors (up from 58 percent in 2022), and 72 percent of Livingston Manor’s juniors and seniors (up from 40 percent in 2022) are out of the building for some of the school day.

By pooling the schools together, which they already do for sports, there would be more opportunities for after-school clubs and extracurriculars for students to enhance their education.

In 2022’s merger discussions, getting to the goal staff number was a concern for many. Evans explained, as he did in 2022, that positions would be dissolved through attrition, meaning that once a teacher retires or leaves, the new board would decide whether to fill the position or not. In the last six years, the two districts have had 59 positions change hands, indicating that it likely would not take long to reach the goal number of staff.

Superintendent Evans also explained that if the merger passed it would not be an immediate merge into a new district in six months. While the new district would officially begin on paper, a restructuring committee would be formed to ensure that the process is not rushed and addresses concerns.

Another concern, which will affect the school districts whether the merger passes or not, is in regards to the state’s push towards zero-emission buses. Currently, electric buses are the only option on the market, and their price comes at a premium, nearly four times more expensive than a traditional bus.

A shift in Foundation Aid from the state also raised some eyebrows at the meeting. With schools typically getting three sources of funding (aid, grants and taxes), upsetting the balance by lowering one would theoretically cause the others to rise. Whether or not the communities vote to merge, the new aid formula will still be on the horizon.

After nearly two hours of slides and a Q&A, both boards voted to pursue a petition to begin the merger process. The petition requires signatures from both districts in favor of the merger and will replace the first straw man vote. If the signatures are received, the community will still have the opportunity to vote on the proposed merger down the road.

For an in-depth look at the slides covered, or information on where to sign a petition if you’re a taxpayer in either school district, you can visit either school’s website and look for the merger tab.