A Palmyra-Macedon parent is asking the school board to explain the costs, savings and student safety plans behind a proposal that would move the district from four instructional buildings to three for the 2027-28 school year.
Hilda Loucks submitted 34 questions about the reorganization and says she has requested supporting financial records under New York’s Freedom of Information Law. The district’s planning page says the Board of Education is expected to act Nov. 2 on recommendations Superintendent Bob Ike presented Oct. 6.
Loucks said Oct. 15 that she had not received substantive answers to her questions or the financial documentation she requested. She is asking the board to make that information available before deciding whether to proceed.
“My concern is whether the community will have sufficient information to evaluate the proposal before the Board votes,” she said.
The district has published reports explaining its financial concerns and proposed changes. It also is collecting public questions and plans to release a public information document Oct. 29, ahead of the November meeting.
How the school configuration would change
Ike’s October recommendation report proposes a three-building model effective July 1, 2027.
The Primary School at 120 Canandaigua St. would continue serving prekindergarten through second grade. Grades three through six would attend an Intermediate School at 163 Hyde Parkway, the current Middle School building. Grades seven through 12 would attend the High School at 151 Hyde Parkway.
Regular instruction would move out of the Intermediate School property at 4 West St. in Macedon. Its future use would be evaluated separately.
The district says consolidation could improve scheduling, teacher collaboration and access to intervention and enrichment while reducing duplicated operations and building expenses.
Loucks wants more detail about how the configuration would work for children. Her questions ask whether seventh and eighth graders would have designated classrooms, bathrooms, cafeterias and common areas separate from older students, and how supervision would work during arrival, dismissal, lunch and class changes.
She also requested building capacities and projected enrollment, along with an evaluation of bus loading, parent pickup, parking and emergency access.
The October report acknowledges that the Hyde Parkway campus lacks a playground. It calls for temporary alternatives until equipment can be installed and says implementation details would be developed with input from students, families and staff.
Loucks is seeking the playground’s cost and installation schedule, as well as transition plans for students moving into buildings designed for older children.
The budget gap and the savings question
The district’s September strategic options report projects that annual expenditures will exceed revenues by more than $5.8 million by 2028-29. That is a forecast of the district’s budget gap, rather than an estimate of what consolidation would save.
The report lists 2025-26 enrollment at 1,542 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, the lowest since 1954-55, plus 90 universal prekindergarten students.
It says declining enrollment has not eliminated fixed expenses such as heating buildings, maintaining facilities and operating transportation. Salaries and benefits account for roughly 70% to 80% of the operating budget.
The September report also lists reductions of eight full-time-equivalent positions in the 2025-26 budget and 14.7 in the 2026-27 budget.
The October recommendation report describes expected savings from consolidation but does not provide an itemized annual savings estimate or a total transition cost.
Those figures are central to Loucks’ questions. She wants separate estimates for staffing, utilities, maintenance, transportation and administration, along with one-time expenses for renovations, furniture, technology, security, moving and recreation facilities.
She also asks how long annual savings would take to recover the upfront expense, how much of the projected gap consolidation would close and what other changes would be needed.
Loucks requested comparisons with other grade configurations, building arrangements and shared services, including the assumptions used to calculate costs and savings.
Student services, staffing and West Street
Loucks’ questions also address special education, counseling, intervention services and the effect of the moves on students’ academic, social and emotional development.
She asks how individualized education programs and Section 504 accommodation plans would be maintained, whether sufficient therapy and resource spaces would be available, and how families would participate in transition planning.
Ike’s recommendations call for a review of special education and student support delivery, continued staffing adjustments through attrition when practical, and a possible reduction of three to four administrative positions by 2030 if the other recommendations are accepted.
The broader package also proposes reviewing courses and schedules, considering limited tuition enrollment for nonresident students and participating in a regional optimization study. It recommends keeping tax levy increases within state limits and preserving core student programs.
Loucks wants to know how staffing changes would affect instruction, nursing, counseling, special education and supervision. She also requested implementation milestones and contingency plans if necessary preparations cannot be finished before students return.
For the West Street property, she asks what continued maintenance, insurance and utilities would cost and how those expenses would affect savings.
The district proposes evaluating future uses with the Town of Macedon, including educational or community partnerships, leasing and shared municipal or recreational space. The recommendation does not settle the property’s future.
How residents can submit questions
The district’s questions and feedback form asks residents to submit input by 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, for consideration in a public information document organized by major themes.
The district says that document will be posted Thursday, Oct. 29, with the board’s agenda ahead of the Nov. 2 meeting. Submissions will remain welcome after Oct. 23.
Loucks has requested a dedicated opportunity for residents to ask questions and discuss the proposal before formal action. She also asks whether the recommendations will receive separate votes and whether the board would postpone a decision if supporting analyses and implementation plans are not ready for public review.
She said she recognizes the district’s financial challenges and is not opposed to change. Her request is for written answers explaining what the district expects to save, what it would spend and how children would be affected before the board decides.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.
