The numbers are clear.
Residents of the Fredonia Central School district were ready to hear more about centralization while residents of the Brocton Central School district were not. Each district voted nearly 2-1 for or against continued centralization talks between the two school districts.
More than 1,900 total voters filed into the Fredonia High School cafeteria for Tuesday's straw vote. The total was a positive for Paul DiFonzo, Fredonia Central School superintendent. Fredonia voters voted in favor of the merger 1,281-665 while Brocton voters voted 882-469 against continuing merger talks.
''Any time two communities work together to try and do something in the best interest of children, a positive can be gained from it,'' he said following the tally. ''The numbers in Fredonia reflect a very high turnout for a very good budget year. We're pleased with the number of voters that came out, I think Brocton had a very high number of voters turn out and in the end that's what you're looking for, you're looking for communities to provide their opinion on this particular subject and I think each community has done that.''
Although a greater total of votes combined were cast in favor of continued talks, by law, the vote need be approved in favor for in each community to pass. As stated during the board's last meeting by DiFonzo the boards will sit back and reflect on the votes before talks continue among districts.
As to whether or not all information required for voters to make the best decision possible was made available, Dan Ihasz, Fredonia Central School board president, said he didn't think anything more could have been done.