Three school districts near Hornell are considering a merger. Members of the Arkport Central School District can get details on the plan at a public meeting Thursday at 6 p.m. Arkport, Alfred-Almond and Canaseraga districts vote on the proposal on September 10.
John Sipple of Cornell’s Center for Rural Schools says these districts aren’t alone. He says school enrollment is declining all over upstate New York.
“The options, when you’re losing your enrollment, are to merge or to use technology to gain back your efficiencies, and so people say well let’s look at a merger, let’s think about that,” he says.
Elmira Heights and Horseheads also have a merger proposal on the table. Their vote doesn’t have a date yet, but it’s expected to be this winter.