Community merger presentation planned in response to Morrisville-Eaton request

Morrisville-Eaton Central School District has requested that the Cazenovia Central School District consider a merger study following updated financial incentives from New York state. In response, the Cazenovia Central School District will host a merger presentation for the public.  “The school district and the board of education would be irresponsible if we didn’t do our due diligence to explore what’s involved with a merger and review all of the advantages and disadvantages for taxpayers and students, especially given the financial challenges we have faced developing the 2024-25 school budget and that the district is projected to face a $1.6 million deficit for the 2025-26 school year,” said Superintendent Christopher DiFulvio. “At this time, the district has made no decisions regarding a merger. We are simply doing our background work to better understand the process and educate ourselves.” The Cazenovia Central School District will host the community merger presentation on Thursday, June 20 at 6 p.m. at the high school auditorium. It will feature a presentation by Cornell University professor and researcher John Sipple who studies how public schools and communities adapt to policies and challenges like mergers.  Dr. Sipple will break down what a merger can look like for a district, outlining both benefits and challenges using easy-to-use data tools. This will include looking at possible incentives for all neighboring districts, not just Morrisville-Eaton. He will also address possible impacts to school buildings and departments, like transportation and the board of education.  The presentation will also feature frequent questions and answers on school mergers. Access to this information will be available on the district website.  “Morrisville-Eaton has informed us that they are in talks with other districts so we want to be able to let them know in a timely manner if merging is something Cazenovia would consider,” DiFulvio said.  If you have any questions, please reach out to the superintendent’s office.  To submit your question(s) for the FAQ page, please use this link.