Ken-Ton district aims to make more cuts

KENMORE, N.Y. (WIVB) - The Ken-Ton School District has already announced the closing of one elementary school next year, but that may not be the end of the belt tightening.

Because of all the cuts the district has had to make, the school board is looking at all options on how resources could best be used. And that may include consolidation.

In 40 years, the Ken-Ton population has dropped by 34,000. At it's height in the 1960s, enrollment in the district was over 22,000. This year's enrollment: 7,280. With a declining population and student enrollment another school may be forced to close.

In the last two years, 88 teaching positions have been eliminated. The district board recently hired an outside consulting group to help determine what the future of the school district could be.

Superintendent Mark Mondonaro said, "The objectives of the study have been out there in the public, the community has seen them but this is the first time to actually interact with the objectives."

Tuesday's meeting was an informal work session. It was open to anyone, but public comment wasn't part of this meeting.

Board members took turns talking about their concerns and questions in regards to consolidation for the consultants to research. Questions ranged from "Would there be less opportunities to participate in sports, student government or other programs?" to "What kinds of physical changes would need to be made to a school if more students were added?" That was also a concern of parents in attendance.

John Feyko questioned, "Is this school fit for a thousand kids? Are there a thousand kids? Are they going to put more lockers in? Are they going to have to build a bigger pool, bigger gym? How many kids are going to be in these classrooms?"

Many speculate that either Ken-East or Ken-West could close, merging the two high schools into one. And many people don't seem to like that idea.

"People are upset anytime you close a school. I think the only thing more difficult to close is a church," Mondonaro said.

The next step in the process is data collection. That could take several weeks, maybe months. After that there will be focus groups, so the process is a still a long way from being over.