West Seneca board hears plan to launch Boys & Girls Club branch, $460K startup budget estimated

School district leaders and a longtime Boys & Girls Club executive laid out a plan July 22 for the Boys & Girls Club of East Aurora to operate a West Seneca unit serving upper elementary and middle-school students, with staff and fundraising responsibilities split between a local unit committee and the East Aurora club.

The proposal matters because district officials said West Seneca lacks consistent, supervised after-school options for many middle-school students and families who face transportation and financial barriers. Superintendent Dr. Krueger invited Gary (CEO) of the Boys & Girls Club of East Aurora to present the operational model and budget.

Under the model described, the new unit would be a branch of the Boys & Girls Club of East Aurora rather than a freestanding Boys & Girls Clubs of America affiliate. Gary said Boys & Girls Clubs of America is not approving new standalone clubs at this time, so West Seneca would be a division of an existing club. He estimated an annual operating budget of about $460,000 and said a one-year operating reserve will be required before launch.

Gary said the initial staff proposal would include a full-time site director, an office manager and program staff (including an athletic director, education director and art director). He described a required staff-to-member ratio of 1:20. With seven initial staff members, he estimated a safe daily capacity of roughly 140 children. At East Aurora the membership fee is $350 per year; children eligible for free or reduced-price lunch receive free membership and scholarships are available for other families.

District leaders described possible school-based locations: the former East Elementary School (adjacent to East Middle School) and the first floor of Winchester Academy if BOCES vacates that facility. Dr. Krueger asked the board to consider what district-held facility support — rent, utilities, maintenance, snow removal and cleaning — the district might provide during a multi-year startup period and said those items were not included in the draft operating budget.

Assemblyman Pat Burke has pledged $300,000 toward launch (an initial $100,000 pledge followed by $200,000), Dr. Krueger said. Gary said East Aurora would provide programmatic guidance, shared resource-development staff and mentorship; West Seneca would be expected to form a unit committee or board of local leaders responsible for fundraising, community outreach and local oversight. Gary said his board has not yet approved the expansion and that East Aurora does not have the roughly $475,000–$480,000 needed to seed a standalone club.

Board members asked about timeline, capacity and governance. Gary said his board and the national affiliation will want evidence of a sustainability plan and one year of operating funds in the bank; with those items and board approvals he suggested a potential opening as early as fall 2026. He recommended early recruitment of a site director to help lead fundraising and program startup. Dr. Krueger raised the idea of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to define district and club responsibilities.

The board did not take a vote on creating a club or committing district facilities on July 22. Members asked staff to gather sample MOAs and the Winchester Academy facility operating costs (utilities, maintenance, custodial and plowing) and to schedule continued board discussion — Dr. Krueger suggested the August 19 work session for follow-up. Dr. Krueger also said she would solicit interest from the community for people willing to serve on a West Seneca unit committee to lead fundraising and governance.

If the board elects to proceed, next steps described by Gary and Dr. Krueger included forming a West Seneca unit committee of community leaders and parents, developing a formal sustainability plan and securing the one-year operating reserve. Gary offered East Aurora’s operational templates and resource-development staff to support West Seneca’s fundraising.

Ending: Board members expressed widespread interest and asked staff to return with sample MOAs, facility cost estimates and examples of local club affiliations; no formal district commitment was made at the July 22 session.