By CRAIG FREILICH

With $50,000 already in the bank, the Canton and Potsdam school districts are seeking another $50,000 to pay for a study of a possible merger.

“The focus is to be able to do a study without impact on local taxpayers, and we believe we have largely accomplished this goal,” said Potsdam Central School Superintendent Pat Brady.

After several years of diminishing enrollments, reductions in state aid, and successive years of cuts to staff and programs, Canton and Potsdam schools are looking into whether merging would better ensure high educational quality at a cost taxpayers can bear.

Requests for bids will be going out in about six weeks to consultants qualified to find and compile data for the districts’ study, according to Canton Central School Superintendent Bill Gregory.

“About half a dozen firms have the capacity to conduct this kind of study,” he said. After a bid is accepted and the contract is awarded, a completed study would be expected after about six more months, Gregory said.

State senators Patty Ritchie, whose district includes Canton, and Joe Griffo, whose district covers Potsdam, have each secured $25,000 for a consultant’s study of the question.

Now, the districts are asking the state Department of State for a local government grant of $50,000 to serve as the districts’ local share to match the funds from the legislators. The grant application deadline is Aug. 12.

“When we approached Sen. Griffo for this funding, we emphasized our belief that a major reason Canton and Potsdam find themselves in a position to have to consider such a course is due to the reduction in state aid – a million dollars less than at the level that existed in 2008-09,” Brady said.

“And the costs of doing business, including labor costs, have been increasing, but the aid has not been enough. So our issues are in part the result of the state funding decisions, and our legislators recognize that fact.

“We heard loud and clear the message to explore consolidation” – a message Gov. Andrew Cuomo repeated during his visit Feb. 5 to Clarkson University – “so we’ve been looking at lots of options,” said Brady.

Gregory said “there will be some preliminary reports during the course of the study, to keep our publics informed.”

“Once the consultant’s study is done, there will be community forums to present the study and discuss it,” and the public’s input will be used to gauge community sentiment, according to Brady.

“We don’t know what the end of this process will be. Two major factors will determine which way we’ll go.

“First, the feasibility study will look at employment, transportation, the tax levy, and other factors, to see if there is a viable solution.

“Second, and more importantly, the two communities will decide the fate of the districts with public votes. The feasibility study is the easy part.”

Voters in both districts would take part in a straw vote.

“That’s the first step to see if there is enough public support,” said Brady. If the vote is in favor of merger, the matter goes to the state Education Department for their view of the plan. If their judgment is favorable, then a more formal referendum in both districts will take place. That step is envisioned for the spring of 2015, according to Brady.

“If that binding referendum is successful, then there needs to be election of new board members and a budget vote for this new school district.

“If the referendum is not successful, then each school district would have a regular budget vote and election of board members,” said Brady.

“There will be many opportunities for public input, and it will need that kind of vetting over time to ensure that the right decision is made.

“From talking to people in the community, given our circumstances, most people are not opposed to exploring these options,” Brady said.