1. Castallo and Silky LLC Jessica Cohen and Alan Pole, Consultants
Facilities/Grade Reorganization Study Massena Central School District Advisory Committee Meeting January 31, 2018
Castallo and Silky LLC
Jessica Cohen and Alan Pole, Consultants

2. Purpose of the Study
In considering 2-3 prioritized options, is there a better way educationally and fiscally to reconfigure the grades and facilities to provide a sound instructional program now and in the future?
If so, how should the grades and facilities be arranged?
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3. Previous Meeting Take-Aways
The district has seen declining enrollments and will likely continue to see enrollments drop slightly.
The grade configuration (K-6, 7-8, 9-12) is a somewhat common arrangement.
The most common grade configuration of schools in New York and the U.S. is K-5, 6-8, although there is no research that indicates that one grade pattern is necessarily better for student learning than another.
The elementary instructional program is comparable across all three schools.
The Junior High School program is typical for a school district of this size. The High School Program provides many alternatives for students including the International Baccalaureate.
There are an extensive number of interscholastic athletic opportunities available to the students in Massena
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4. Previous Meeting Take-Aways
The neighborhood school concept has been embraced by Massena for the location of its elementary schools.
The Building Condition Survey has identified approximately $94,000,000 of work to be completed in the district’s school buildings.
The concept of grade center schools would reduce the number of elementary sections by approximately 6.
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5. Follow Up From Last Meeting
Explore the feasibility and desirability of creating a new 7-12 facility
Current Square footage-JHS-82,400; HS-197,482
Approximate cost for new construction-$300/sq. ft.
In small groups, what are the pros and cons of this proposal?
Community Support
Location
Use for current buildings
Etc….

6. Utility Costs

7. Transportation Overview

8. The district has 34 buses + operates 7 owned by NYSED to transport students to the Akwasasne Mohawk Reservation
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9. Transportation Policies
Students in the Massena School District shall be provided transportation to and from school within the following limits:
For students in Pre-K – 6, ¾ mile or beyond
For students in grades 7 – 12, 1 ½ miles or beyond
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10. Many students walk to school
High School =207
Junior High = 146
Jefferson = 166
Madison = 98
Nightengale = 177
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11. Busing Students to School
The district uses a combination of single, double, and triple runs.
16 Double AM/PM Secondary/Elementary
2 Secondary/Elementary double runs
3 Single Secondary AM/PM/Late runs
2 Single Elementary
3 AM/PM Secondary Native American
2 AM/PM Elementary Native American
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12. Additional Bus Trips 3 Mid-Day Pre-K Bus Routes (3 Buses)
2 AM/Mid Day/PM BOCES (2 Buses)
4 3:00 pm late buses from High School and Junior High
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13. How Long are Students on Buses?
Average Ride for Students = 40 – 45 minutes
Longest Ride for Students = 1 Hour + for HS
Shortest Ride for Students = 10 minutes for Elementary
NYSED recommends bus rides of 1 hour or less
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16. How Would the Grade Center Plan Impact Transportation?
Elementary bus runs would pick up Pre-K – 6 students at their homes and then drop them off at each of the 3 buildings. Students who are dropped off at the second and third school on the route would be on the bus additional time – approximately 10 minutes for the second school and 20 minutes for the third school resulting in average rides of 55 to 65 minutes for some students.
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17. How Would the Grade Center Plan Impact Transportation?
6 additional buses would be needed to accommodate the 295 additional students who would need to be bused.
2 additional buses would be needed because the ability to double trip Madison students would be lost.
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18. How Would the Grade Center Plan Impact Transportation?
Adding buses/routes might decrease the amount of time students were on buses but would not be cost efficient in terms of the number of students riding each bus.
The number of walkers would decrease significantly (by approximately 2/3) as students would no longer be walking to their
neighborhood school.
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19. How Would the Grade Center Plan Impact Transportation?
On average, would students be on buses longer?
It would add about 20 minutes to the average bus ride because of the need to stop at 3 elementary buildings.
Would there be increased costs for additional runs or buses?
6 buses would be added because students who previously walked to school would have to be bused and 2 buses would be added to handle elementary runs as we would lose the ability to double trip Madison students.
Would there be any savings for transportation?
No, there would be the added cost of purchasing buses and additional labor.
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20. Transportation expenses
The average cost of a bus purchased by Massena over the past three years was approximately $116,460.
In addition to the cost of additional buses, the district would have additional costs for bus drivers and mileage.
The state currently aids transportation expenses at $.90. This means that approximately $.90 of every dollar spent on allowable transportation costs are reimbursed by New York State.
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21. A grade center plan would increase the cost of transportation.
About 30% of the students walk to and from school every day. 70% of the students are bused on one of the 41 buses in the fleet. The average ride for students is about 40 – 45 minutes.
The district operates on a double trip system, with a few single trips and triple trips.
Moving to a grade center plan would add an extra 295 students who needed to be bused and would require the addition of approximately 6 extra buses.
The length of time that many elementary students would be on the bus would increase by approximately 20 minutes.
A grade center plan would increase the cost of transportation.
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22. Questions ????
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