January 17, 2015
BOCES seeks site for New Tech school
HOMER — After a failed bid to put a technology and project-based learning high school in Truxton, Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES is exploring different sites but does not have a specific one in mind yet, BOCES Superintendent J. Francis Manning said.
BOCES officials will meet with real estate agents to see what buildings are available that meet the requirements for the school, Manning said in a phone interview Thursday.
If a suitable site is found, BOCES will then have to weigh the costs of renting it, he said.
“So it’s not a quick process at all,” Manning said.
Where BOCES might create the New Tech high school is up in the air after Homer school district voters in a Dec. 16 referendum rejected the proposal to borrow$5.8 million to renovate Hartnett Elementary School in Truxton to lease the building for the BOCES/New Tech school.
New Tech schools teach curriculum by dividing students into teams that must solve real world problems using technology, such as their school-issued lap top. The teaching style aims to better prepare students for the work force than traditional teaching styles.
Manning was unsure if the BOCES board of education would still be interested in leasing the Hartnett building if Homer voters approve a second referendum for the project.
“I haven’t discussed it with my board yet, so I can’t say yes or no,” he said.
Two Homer board members said at the board’s Tuesday meeting they would like to see the referendum to renovate the school put back up for another vote.
The plan was for the Truxton New Tech school to serve the five Cortland County public schools as well as public schools in southern Onondaga and Madison counties.
Superintendents of the Cortland County school districts all said at a regular BOCES meeting held the day after the Homer vote they were still committed to having a New Tech High School in the Cortland area, Manning said.
“I applaud the school superintendents in the district,” he said. “They want to go forward because bottom line this is best for kids.”
A New Tech high school that opened this fall in Liverpool has been very successful, Manning said.
Students at the school are engaged, are doing better academically and say they enjoy working in their student teams, he said.
Area businesses are also taking part in the students’ education at the school, Manning said. The businesses work with teachers to develop classes around real world problems, help the students to solve the problems or act as an authentic audience as students present their solutions to the problems, he said.
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