The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

November 2, 2009

Singular or plural

Directors like idea of joining with others

By Tom Davidson

FARRELL, WHEATLAND — What happens when you mix Steelers, Tigers, Hornets, Blue Devils and maybe Big Reds?

It might create a monster.

But it also could create another animal, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in the Commonwealth since pioneers heeded the call to “Go west, young man!” 150 years ago.

The new pioneers are members of the Shenango Valley’s five school boards, some of whom have been receptive to the idea of consolidating districts or at least sharing services — an idea Gov. Ed Rendell has championed but stopped short of mandating.

“Must we wait until the state says ‘You’ve got to do it?,’ ” Farrell School Board member James Guerino asked Monday.

Faced with a bare-bones work session agenda, the nine-member board spent some time informally talking about whether consolidation or cooperation with neighboring districts is something to consider in the wake of an Oct. 14 meeting, organized by Sharon School Board member Christopher Gavin, where Shenango Valley school board members talked about the idea.

The conclusion of that meeting is that any effort to merge school districts is a long way off, Farrell board President Marcena Cimoric said.

But Mrs. Cimoric didn’t rule out the possibility and said it make sense for a shrinking district like Farrell, which now graduates fewer than 100 students a year.

“We’re not graduating 200 like we used to,” Mrs. Cimoric said.

“That’s why I think the state should mandate it,” board member Ronald Weston said.

For a consolidation to work, “you’ve got to have willing partners” in other districts, board member Chuck Branca said.

Gavin has lobbied the idea for more than a year in Sharon, and West Middlesex School Board President Tom Hubert started the Mercer County School Directors Association in 2007 to look at sharing services.

In Farrell, the district is at a crossroads, with an interim superintendent in Dr. Lawrence Connelly — a retired Mercer administrator who splits his time leading Farrell and Shenango School District in Lawrence County.

“In a minute, we’re going to be behind the curve,” board Vice President Terry Harrison said, referring to the district finding a permanent superintendent — a position that wouldn’t be needed if Farrell would merge with a neighboring district or work out a deal to share a superintendent.

“The devil’s in the details,” Connelly told board members.

Would a shared administrator have to answer to multiple school boards? If that were so, Connelly said it might make managing schools difficult if the administrator had to try to please more than one school board at a time.

“It all sounds like, ‘Why don’t we get together and hug each other?’ but it’s way more complicated,” Connelly said.

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