During Tuesday’s board meeting, Southwestern officials approved mergers of the varsity and junior varsity football team with Frewsburg’s team as well as the schools’ competitive cheerleading teams, girl’s varsity swim teams, girl’s varsity tennis teams and boy’s varsity swim teams. Southwestern declined a merger of the schools’ boys varsity soccer teams that was approved by Frewsburg’s school board on Monday.

Much like the votes in Frewsburg, approvals were not unanimous. Southwestern board members Josh Gesing and Dr. Elizabeth Laczi voted against the football team mergers and the tennis team merger while Gesing abstained from the vote to merge the girls swim teams. The board unanimously passed the boys swim team merger. The only board member to vote to merge the boys soccer teams was Rick Hartmann. Hartmann said regardless of the recommendation to not support a merger of the soccer team by the administration that he would be voting for it

Board member Troy Durnell asked if the Southwestern board approved the mergers if it would create teams that are too large and lead to cuts.

During the public comment section of the work session, several concerned residents spoke up against the proposed shared sports program with Frewsburg – though commenters were particularly curious about how the mergers would affect the Southwestern soccer teams. Frewsburg parent Eric Clark questioned the board during the public comments session asking if the shared programs would create less opportunities for Southwestern students and if there would be any negative consequences by merging teams.

From left, Southwestern Central School District’s Board of Education members Joshua Gesing and Michael Carothers, School Business Official Annette Rhebergen, Superintendent Maureen Donahue, Board President Kurt Gustafson, Board Members Richard Hartmann, and Troy Durnell, and not pictured Dr. Elizabeth Laczi conduct school business Tuesday night. P-J photo by Christopher Blakeslee

In other business, Maureen Donahue, Southwestern superintendent, presented the potential adjusted tax rate after accounting for an adjusted property rate assessment for community residents.

Donahue said the figures she presented were preliminary numbers and were not final.

“It’s been 11 years since we’ve had a residential adjustment and 14 years since we’ve had a commercial adjustment,” she said.

Donahue said the total tax collected through the district’s tax levy will stay the same. How those tax collections are composed will change under the reassessment. It’s expected about a third of tax assessments will increase, a third will stay about the same and a third will decrease.

During a slideshow presentation, Donahue said that the 2024-2025 Southwestern tax rate based on the Town of Busti’s current assessment is $22.495 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, with the district’s tax rate after the property reassessment decreasing to $10,825 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

Likewise, potential changes could be seen in the Star and Enhanced Star programs. The current rate for the 2024-25 STAR program is $22,100. Under the new preliminary assessment, the latest STAR Program would be set at $30,000. The Enhanced Star program 2024-25 rate of $59,950 could change under the new preliminary assessment to $81,000.