August 30, 2011—In light of the current economic climate, declining state aid and a new property tax cap, the Schalmont and Mohonasen school boards are exploring ways to share more services and ultimately save money.

The neighboring districts held a joint board workshop in mid-August. The meeting served as a brainstorming session, at which board members informally discussed whether they would support or were interested in studying potential areas for shared services.

Areas of discussion included transportation and a bus garage, business support services, administration, faculty and staff, special education, alternative education, professional development, athletics and academic programs.

Board members overwhelmingly agreed that they would like to continue the conversations and learn more about the logistics of sharing services, especially business office functions and other support services, and a shared bus garage. They discussed the possibility of pursuing an efficiency study to better understand the pros and cons – as well as the potential cost savings, if any – of combining or sharing certain district functions.

Members of both groups stressed the importance of maintaining each district’s identity, traditions and culture. However, as fiscal constraints continue to grow both groups acknowledged the benefits that sharing services could provide to taxpayers and students.

“I think this is a positive step,” said Mohonasen board member Mark Sabatini. “We might learn a lot from each other and we’re doing the right thing for our districts.”

Both districts faced difficult budget decisions during the 2010-11 school year.

In Schalmont, the school board made nearly $2 million in budget reductions, which were achieved through a combination of school closures and personnel reductions affecting 24 full-time equivalent teaching, support staff and administrative positions.

At Mohonasen, school leaders made $2.7 million in cuts and eliminated 34.5 FTE positions district wide in the 2011-12 budget. Voters in Mohonasen also rejected a $43 million capital project in the fall of 2010.

Both districts already successfully share a number of programs and services. These include a community transition program for students with disabilities and a shared swim team. They are also part of a consortium of districts that purchase equipment, supplies and health insurance together.

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