Report on Shared Services Study

Over a year ago, the Chautauqua Lake Central School District joined in a partnership with three other school districts to form a consortium called ASSET (A Shared Service Educational Team). Among other initiatives, this group of forward-thinking districts applied for and received a grant from the New York Secretary of State to obtain a study of possible shared services. Following a request for proposals, the districts awarded the grant to the Rural Schools Foundation.

Recently, the Rural Schools Foundation issued a report entitled, “Shared Services Feasibility Study.” (See the complete report, linked from the ASSET Consortium page on this website.) This report is divided into three sections, including:

• Possibilities for participating in a centralized business office
• Considerations for other potential shared services
• Options for consolidation/regionalization

I encourage every resident to carefully read the study, the findings, and the recommendations.

While the information will require careful evaluation by the Board of Education, administrators and other stakeholders, one thing is for certain: The enrollment projections in the study require immediate attention. Although only estimates, the data found within the study indicate that our school district will encounter a 15.3 % decrease in total enrollment over the five years from 2006-07 through 2011-12. In addition, for the four districts combined, the data suggest a total high school population of 750 by the 2011-12 school year, a 20.7 % decrease over the same five-year period. If such a decline takes place, it will become an increasing challenge to provide the type of high-quality programming we currently offer our students. Consequently, we need to begin focused dialogue on this topic now.

Chautauqua Lake Central School District will take the following actions in response to this report and the previously mentioned enrollment projections:

• The Board of Education will give consideration to advancing its participation in a Central Business Office (CBO) Management Team, as suggested in the report. Participation in that team is expected to lead to an implementation plan for a CBO that may include the four districts, and possibly additional districts in the county, leading to cost savings and increased efficiencies in service.
• The district will develop a focused action plan to respond to declining enrollment to include:
  • Input of multiple constituencies, including parents, community residents, students, staff members, administration, and board members.
• Developing multiple partnerships with groups and organizations to maintain and enhance local capacity.
• Collaboration with ASSET districts (and others as available) to identify/develop program options to maintain/enhance student learning opportunities.
• Advancing options for regionalism including development of legislation to support a Regional High School.
• Ongoing evaluation of district Goal #6 “The Chautauqua Lake Central School District community will identify and support the preceding goals in a fiscally responsible manner,” as related to the enrollment projections and future cost projections.

I invite any and all residents and taxpayers of the Chautauqua Lake Central School District to submit questions and comments to me at bspitzer@clake.org. In order to preserve and grow the best of what CLCS has to offer to our students as enrollment declines, we need to apply a cooperative and collaborative problem-solving approach that includes many stakeholders.

Sincerely,

Benjamin B. Spitzer, Superintendent

Reminder: District practice requires that written comments or questions — either hand-delivered, sent by mail or emailed — include the writer’s full name, mailing address, and telephone number.