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Sachem board urges community to oppose NYSED regionalization proposal
Summary
The Sachem Central School District board issued a formal statement opposing the New York State Education Department's regionalization proposal, saying the plan was rushed, lacked funding clarity and risked local control; the board urged residents to submit comments by Dec. 15.
An unidentified board member told the Sachem Central School District's Nov. 6 meeting that the board strongly opposes a New York State Education Department proposal to develop a regionalization plan, saying the district and its stakeholders had received insufficient details and that the process appeared rushed.
"The board's strong opposition to New York State Education Department's recent proposal to develop [a] regionalization plan" was announced during the meeting, the speaker said, adding the plan "poses significant concerns for our district impacting both the economy and the personalized educational experiences" students now receive.
The board criticized the presentation format used by NYSED, saying questions had to be submitted in advance and that answers were not provided in a live forum. The speaker said the state initially told districts the process would take 18 months to three years but then was "fast tracked and completed within six months," and urged the community to submit written comments to regcomments@nysed.gov before a Dec. 15 filing deadline.
Board members compared the proposal to prior state initiatives they said had produced unfunded mandates. One board member referenced the district's experience with APPR, saying some statewide tools did not produce the intended results and warning regionalization could bring similar funding and control concerns.
The board asked community members to submit individualized letters and said the board would send its own comment and join a coalition letter with approximately 140 other school board members from Nassau County and elsewhere.
The board did not take a formal vote on a specific policy motion during the public session; the meeting moved on to regular agenda items and later recessed into executive session for personnel and litigation matters.
