WESTFIELD - As Westfield Academy and Central School's consolidation plans continue, let the brainstorming begin.
As part of the discussion at a recent Westfield Academy and Central School's Board of Education meeting, some ideas were put forth in a letter by board member Jeff Greabell.
David Davison, district superintendent, said he liked the theme of transparency and openness, which are both important in the process.
Some of Greabell's suggestions included a series of community meetings open to residents of both Brocton and Westfield at places like local American Legions, fire halls or the Westfield Moose Lodge. He also suggested meeting middle and high school students from both districts to explain consolidation and its effects and also to answer any questions the students might have.
Steve Cockram, board vice president, discussed the importance of having a social media campaign.
"It's out there and it's a very important factor," he said.
Board member Joy Bodenmiller said she was excited the board was talking about and planning for consolidation even before a study is done.
"I think that gives us a head start that we didn't have before," Bodenmiller said.
A consolidation request for proposal given to both Brocton and Westfield by BOCES to see if the two districts were comfortable with the timetable and the format. Davison has started looking at grants to pay for the centralization study, including contacting state Senator Catharine Young's office.
Greabell said he was pleasantly surprised by the timetable trying to move the process right along.
"If we can get (the consolidation) done before the next school year, we really ought to so that we don't have to go through another round of cuts such as we have just gone through," he said.
There were no other objections to the RFP made at the meeting.