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From left: Watkins Glen Superintendent Kai D'Alleva, GST BOCES Superintendent Stacy Saglibene, and Bradford Superintendent John Marshall at meeting.

Watkins, Bradford School Boards meet, discuss the possibility of consolidation

BRADFORD, Oct. 14, 2025 -- A preliminary discussion of the possibility of consolidating the Watkins Glen and Bradford School Districts was held Tuesday evening when the two districts' School Boards and superintendents met in the Bradford School cafeteria.

The two boards spent most of the 90-minute session trying to learn about each other, but time and again both sides sounded the same philosophy: What they are seeking is "opportunities for the children."

"That's what this is about. The tip of the spear is opportunity," said Bradford Superintendent John Marshall, who explained that such opportunities appear to be endangered with a projected New York State budget deficit of $7.5 billion. Education, he said, could be taking a hit as a result.

He noted that a meeting of "75 or 85" Bradford district residents was held last week, where "a lot of good questions" were asked and answered. Tuesday night's session drew more than 40 spectators, with the understanding that this time they were present to observe, not interact.

On hand with School Board members and with Marshall and Watkins Glen Superintendent Kai D'Alleva were Stacy Saglibene, the GST BOCES superintendent, and -- remotely -- the New York State Education Department's David Elliott, an expert on district consolidations.

Elliott said that from his experience -- a number of districts have sought input from him about consolidation but in only one case has "reorganization happened, and only after a second attempt" -- he envisioned the process could take three years. "These things take time," he said, involving as they do a meeting of the minds of School Boards, a feasibility study, approval by residents of each district, and approval by the state.

Members of the Watkins and Bradford School Boards, seated alternately at tables in the cafeteria, inquired of their counterparts about how each district worked, what its philosophy was, the size of its classes, its rapport with its community, its resulting identity, and its enrollment.

Both districts have experienced enrollment declines -- Watkins Glen 20% (down to 912) since its Middle School was closed a decade ago, and Bradford down to 231 from 270 over the same period. The reasons, the discussion indicated, include smaller families than in the past, and a shortage of affordable housing.

NYSED's Elliott explained that there is money available for consolidated districts "beyond state aid," in the form of incentives. If Watkins and Bradford consolidated, that would amount to $57 million for the new district under the existing state Foundation Aid formula. The $57 million would be spread out over 14 years.

The end result of the meeting was basically this:

1. The Bradford School Board will meet next week to further discuss the matter. As one board member pointed out, it "owes Dundee" a similar meeting considering those two districts have a number of merged sports teams.

2. Watkins School Board President Keith Caslin invited the Bradford Board to visit the Watkins campus to observe its operation at any time.

3. The two boards held open the possibility of a second meeting to further discuss consolidation, with that one likely in Watkins Glen.

4. Both boards made clear that in moving forward, should they decide to do so, their concerns -- and that of their residents -- will include the matter of identity. There must be, said one Bradford board member, an absence, in any consolidation, of "one district being absorbed by the other."

"This would be a merger," said Watkins Board member Chad Hendrickson.

Added Superitendent Marshall: "We're partners in this."

To which Superintendent D'Alleva noted: "We're more similar than we are different."

Photos in text:

Top: Watkins Glen School Board President Keith Caslin, right, and Bradford School Board President Alex Walters at Tuesday's session.
Middle: The New York State Education Department's David Elliott talked to meeting members via Zoom.
Bottom: Meeting participants were seated in the Bradford School cafeteria.

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And earlier:

Watkins BOE gives go-ahead for talks with Bradford about possibility of consolidation

WATKINS GLEN, Sept. 22, 2025 -- The Watkins Glen School District Board of Education Monday night gave Superintendent Kai D'Alleva the green light to discuss with Bradford Central School District officials the possibility of consolidating the two districts -- to get an idea, said D'Alleva, "of what we would look like together."

D'Alleva said that in an era when state officials are encouraging the regionalization of school districts -- by combining two or more contiguous districts into one -- and with the promise of incentive funds to districts that consolidate (essentially merge) in the tens of millions of dollars spread across 15 years, such a move with Bradford would make sense financially. (Unofficially, the total available for a Watkins-Bradford consolidation would total more than $50 million.)

But, he said, the primary goal would be to maintain the level of opportunities for students -- both athletically and academically -- that currently exist in "an era of rapid change."

That change, he said, can be seen in the decline in Watkins Glen School District enrollment since 2014-15, when the Middle School was closed by school officials "who had the foresight" to know that that large structure was no longer needed -- borne out by a comparison of district enrollment then (1,141 students) and now (913), a loss of almost 20 percent. The enrollment at Bradford, with 200-plus students, has been stable in recent years.

D'Alleva said he started informal talks about 18 months ago with Bradford Superintendent John Marshall -- "conversations, really, about what it (consolidation) would look like." Later, officers of the two districts' Boards of Education were brought into it, although "nothing was formalized." Now, something formal -- if tentative -- will start, although D'Alleva said there is "a long way to go for this to be a glimmer of a possibility."

The process of consolidation is a long one, involving a merger study by an independent expert, votes by both boards and -- historically more challenging -- both an advisory vote by district residents which, if approved, would lead to a formal referendum of residents.

Watkins School Board President Keith Caslin weighed in about discussing consolidation: "I think we have to," he said. "We have to think outside the box."

One question raised was the status -- should a Watkins-Bradford consolidation reach fruition -- of existing merger agreements between the Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour districts in various sports. The two districts have combined squads in football, swimming, baseball and softball.

"We have no intention," said D'Alleva, "of not continuing our relationship with Odessa-Montour in shared athletics" -- O-M being a district that has historically opposed any district-wide consolidation. Nor did he have an answer to the future of the merged athletic programs in effect between the Bradford and Dundee school districts should a Watkins-Bradford consolidation occur.

"We don't know the direction this is going to go," said D'Alleva. "There's nothing official. It's a long process -- a complex process driven by statute. The goal is to maintain program while reducing the local burden."

Pursuing the issue by at least discussing it, he said, "is due diligence."

Photos in text:

Top: Logos of the Bradford and Watkins Glen School Districts as displayed during the Watkins School Board meeting.
Bottom: Watkins Glen School Superintendent Kai D'Alleva at the meeting.