Providing an Education in Rural School Districts
By Liz Page
JEFFERSON – You don't have to tell rural superintendents how off-skew funding for education is in New York State, where rural school districts are at a disadvantage when it comes to state funding.
No one disputes that students today are learning in an environment that is much different from when their parents and grandparents attended school.
The concern for some of the nearly 50 people attending the Rural Schools Association forum at Jefferson Central School last Wednesday is merger or consolidation. The forums have been held across the state to gather input on what rural school districts need to keep their students on equal footing with students from much larger urban and suburban school districts.
One of the keynote speakers, Dr. Catherine Huber, Otsego-Northern Catskills Board of Cooperative Educational Services District Superintendent, said they have already been working on regional conversations, outlining the strengths, needs and suggestions necessary. They also seek to outline the changes needed in legislation and or regulatory changes, relief and needed resources to help provide a better education for students in rural districts.
While rural school districts provide some advantages, the fact is that many students that hail from rural school districts struggle compared to others when they move on to higher education. The thoughts have changed the focus from giving tests to giving students holistic readiness, with a new single diploma system aligning with the vision for post-secondary success. This was developed out of the Portrait of a Graduate, which grew out of the pandemic.
The intent of the Rural Schools Associations, RSA, which sponsored last week's forum, is to find some of the answers and to get the input from the community and local educators. Many of those attending last week's forum were school board members or affiliates of local school districts. The objective was to create an educational vision.
Huber told the audience BOCES has already been working on the regionalism concepts, to develop collaborations around sustainable models.
Dr. Tarkan Ceng, a shared superintendent at Jefferson Central School, where the forum took place, and South Kortright Central School, is part of a pilot to determine if a shared superintendent is feasible.
Huber said the idea in the 19-member ONC BOCES district is to co-create an educational vision and to band together to create the most robust conditions for each student. "We are better together," she said.
The man facilitating the forums is David Little, RSA executive director. He has a 40-plus year history working with legislators and educators. He said he has been all over the state to help make sure everyone has had an opportunity to say what they want and he said the conversations have included all sorts of issues, from requiring electrified school buses to special education needs. "I am here to tell you what you need to know and not what you want to hear," he said.
"The state pays the largest per capita taxes and has the largest debt level in the nation. We live in an area of high heating and cooling costs with a robust state regulatory system".
The Portrait of a Graduate (POG) defined the essential skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, global citizenship and dispositions students need for college, careers, and life. It's a collaborative effort to prepare students for a changing world, emphasizing adaptability, creativity, and real-world skills beyond traditional academics, supported by the state's move away from strict Regents exam requirements for graduation in the coming years.
"If we are going to have effective rural schools going into the next generation, then we have to know what we need," said Little.
Huber made the statement that a student's education should not be determined by their zip code and Little said students in the Bronx and students upstate should not be taught the same. Their demographics are very different and should be considered in the process of educating students for success.
Janet Beken Smith, a school board member at South Kortright, said they should not, however, lose sight of the fact that there are advantages to being in a small district. Students have opportunities without the competition of a large district with so many more students looking to play a team sport, or be in the school play. There are challenges to educate, she admits. Little said the demographics now, however, are dipping below those advantages, with districts having to merge together to form sports teams or put on a musical.
Rural districts have lost 20 percent of their students and the trend is not reversing.
Jonna Altheim asked Little what he thought about school safety and security measures which have some parents wanting to take their kids out of school.
Little said because students had no cell phones, no social media and no pandemic previously, those in today's educational system have come out of what some of them considered solitary confinement. There are no middle schools and there are more students with developmental disabilities. In light of all that, schools are the target of choice.
"This is why we have got to develop a plan. We need to get the school resource officers out of Foundation Aid. They should be paid for by the state. We are getting our kids to school on a $400,000 bus, but can we fundamentally educate them when they get there."
Sara Abbatine asked where the tax base would be if there should be regionalization or merger.
Little said many districts believe the community would disintegrate without the school.They are the center of the community in many cases. The state chose a different model from other states, going K-12 with centralized schools. In other states there is elementary school, middle school with a regional high school. Any two school districts have different tax rates and there is a need to find middle ground to make it equal.
Lucas Flachs said many small districts have school boards made up of members that grew up in those districts and community members who say absolutely no to merger.
Little said you have to get them to realize that what was good enough for them when they went to school has changed. He said people often vote with their emotions before they study the issue and the way the voting is structured, it is structured for mergers to fail. The real issue is to get people's minds changed about what they know and to be factual about it. Kids of today are not the same either.
Tricia Hultz said rural schools are fighting to give their students opportunities, already merging sports, with some districts having a population of less than 100 students. Each school district is paying for a superintendent. She said they are wasting money.
Little said merger does not actually save money, but it does provide additional education opportunities for the students.
Collin Miller said that New York State has the third largest rural population in the nation and if communities ignore taking this opportunity to make changes that will benefit the education of rural students, they are making a big mistake.
Regionalization is not about merging and consolidation. It's more about what resources are available and what can be shared. What are local districts proud of and what are their barriers?
More community conversations will be needed to expand opportunities for the learners.
Catherine Snyder asked if there is a plan and what stage it is at.
Huber said the school districts get to decide and "we need to know what our reality is."
The Roxbury Central School Superintendent has recommended taking the merger aid being offered by the state and changing it to regionalization aid and provide regionalization initiatives for the high schools.
Little said that for the first time, the state is not talking about the kids in the seats, but about what those kids in the seats need.
For more information, visit www.rsany.org.
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