January 14, 2015
Homer board splits on Harnett options
HOMER — With the future of Truxton’s Hartnett Elementary School unclear after a scuttled bid to turn it into a technology and project-based learning high school, Board of Education members Tuesday advocated selling the building, taking another vote on the project or exploring other options altogether.
Some residents also advocated selling the building, while others requested a committee be formed to discuss other options for the school.
The board scheduled an open forum for6:30 p.m. Jan. 21 at the high school library to field ideas from residents. Board President Sonia Apker asked residents to call the district to sign up for time slots to speak at the meeting.
About 50 people attended Tuesday’s meeting at the Junior High School’s cafeteria.
The board must decide what to do with the school after voters rejected a proposition Dec. 16 to fund a $5.8 million renovation of the building to turn it into a New Tech high school run by Onondaga-Cortland-Madsion BOCES.
Putting the building to a useful purpose again is complicated by the fact the board voted in August to declare the building surplus. To keep the building in use, the board would have to pass another resolution stating the district needs the building, said the board’s lawyer, Kate Hill of the Harris Beach law firm.
The board of education is split over the next best step for the district.
Board members Martin Sweeney, Mary Beth Mathey and Randy Weatherby advocated selling the Hartnett building.
Weatherby said he thinks voters failed the renovation proposition because they do not want any tax increase in a district with decliningenrollment.
“I’m not sure we have any choice but to sell the building,” he said.
Sweeney noted that over the years, the district has had to close and sell schools in Scott, Glen Haven and Preble, and now must sell the school in Truxton.
It is fiscally irresponsible for the district to leave Hartnett open when other buildings can accommodate the students, Mathey said.
NEW VOTE ON RENOVATIONS URGED
Apker and David Quinlan said they would like to see another vote on the renovations to facilitate the New Tech High School. They blamed what they believed were biased news media reports for influencing the vote.
BOCES has indicated it will give the Homer board time to make a decision on Hartnett, but is also pursuing other properties, Homer Superintendent of Schools Nancy Ruscio said.
“They do believe it (Hartnett) will be a hostile environment,” Ruscio said.
In a phone interview Tuesday, BOCES District Superintendent J. Francis Manning said the school consortium is exploring different locations in the Cortland area.
“Everybody’s still committed and we’re just going to see what other locations are a possibility to have the school,” Manning said.
Board member Kimberly Sharpe said she favors passing a resolution to keep the school open for another year while the district considers options for the building, saying she does not want to rush the decision.
Board Vice President Luke Morenus pointed to decreased enrollment in the district over the years coupled with a higher tax levy.
“At some point, it becomes unfair that people are paying more and getting less,” he said.
Board members seemed to discount the idea of a charter or magnet school at the Truxton school.
Since a Truxton charter school would take some of the student aid away from the district if it were started, Sweeney said he would oppose that plan. Sweeney was also against starting a magnet school at the site, calling it an “iffy plan” to pursue with the district’s resources.
Magnet schools are public schools that focus on a theme, such as science, technology, engineering and math skills. A charter school is a publicly-funded, independent school usually governed by a group or organization under a legislative contract.
Mathey said an entity other than the school board would have to put forward a proposal on a charter or magnet school.
Pedrick questioned where students for a Truxton charter or magnet school would come from.
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