December 3, 2021
Good Afternoon Worcester Families,
I wanted to take a minute to say ‘thank you’ to all the voters who attended the annexation merger votes. Regardless of your position on the merger, it was great to see so many people exercise their right to vote.
Although the merger did not pass in both communities, I want to assure you that the Worcester Central School District (WSCD) will continue in a positive direction. While merging would have provided definite short-term and long-term advantages, we are not in a financial or academic position where we must merge with another district.
Rest assured that our financial position is extremely solid, and I encourage to review our most recent long range plan presentation and documents provided by WCSD’s financial advisor Dr. Rick Timbs. The presentation and documents demonstrate that our current finances are strong and will sustain WCSD into the future.
Moving forward, we will continue to provide the highest quality of education. We will continue to look for innovative and creative ways to provide our students with challenging and rewarding educational opportunities and activities.
You also may be wondering: what happens now that the vote didn’t pass in both school districts?
The Commissioner's order of an annexation merger is still valid and since the proposition failed in Schenevus they could have a revote. Worcester would not have to revote because the proposition has already passed. To revote in Schenevus, they would have to wait one year from December 1st of 2021. That vote would also have to be held before December 1st of 2023. (Basically, it would have to be held between December 2, 2022 to December 1, 2023). If the question of annexation is defeated a second time in Schenevus, or if it is not brought to a second vote within the 2 years of the initial vote, the annexation order becomes null and void. However, if the second vote was approved in Schenevus, the annexation would become effective July 1 after the vote.
In closing, I am very grateful to everyone in our school community who participated in this process, shared their feedback, asked great questions, and voted. I would like to particularly thank the members of our Merger Study Committee, and WCS Board of Education for their time and commitment to the two-year process. It is with Wolverine Pride we will keep Worcester an amazing place for our students!
Respectfully,
Tim Gonzales
Superintendent
Presentation Link:
Presentation Documents