Allegany-Limestone Board of Education members have proposed
closing the Allegany-Limestone Elementary School, citing financial
benefits. The residents of Limestone and parents of the students at
that school, however, are not convinced the closure is for the
best.
Limestone Mayor Ralph Bottone said Sunday he doubts closing the
school will actually save taxpayers money. Moreover, he feels the
proposed closure will only cause problems for Limestone
residents.
“They (school board members) seem to tell us that it is a
financial problem,” Bottone said of what was at the root of the
proposed closure, “and make believe it will get taxes lowered. But
you can’t promise anyone that by closing the school the $280,000
will replace the $270,000 they said they lost in the merger.”
Bottone was referring to the merger between the Limestone and
Allegany school districts about 10 years ago. Officials in favor of
closing the school have apparently said a little more than $280,000
would be saved by it. Also, Bottone refers to a comparable amount
of money the same officials claim was lost in the merger.
Bottone said a major drawback of the proposed closure of the
school would mean students would have to be bused to Allegany. As
such, most children would board their buses about 6:30 a.m., he
said, and would spend an average of an hour riding one way.
“I care about the children,” Bottone said. “Naturally the safety
of the children comes first, but also the impact on the community
(if the school were to close) would be catastrophic. It’s all we
have left.
“The reason the merger actually went through 10 years ago,”
Bottone said, “is because people like me who were originally
against it, with all the assurances we were promised, relented to
try the merger when they told us we would always keep our
school.”
Bottone said he suspected closing the elementary school would
prompt changes in the water and sewer systems and cause the
property values to drop.
“If they take our school from us, there’s going to be an awful
boundary line between the two communities,” Bottone said of the
Village of Limestone and the Town of Allegany. When asked to
elaborate, he said simply “I don’t think we’ll be getting along as
well as we would like to.”
Bottone did say, however, there are some residents of Allegany
who are supporting the Limestone residents and their cause.
“There are people in Allegany sticking up for us, too, and I
really appreciate that,” he said.
Bottone said he planned to question board members Tuesday about
the finances of the matter, and expects them to provide “specific
numbers to back this up,” he said. “They haven’t yet.”
“I’ve had businesses in Limestone, and I’ve always lived and
worked in this village, and if that school closes down it will be
an awful, awful thing for the community,” Bottone said.
He said he felt board members, “out of honor,” should adhere to
the promises made by the former board regarding the elementary
school. He reiterated the fact that children will lose two hours of
family time each school day, and that very young children would
have to wake about 5:30 a.m. to be on a bus at 6:30 a.m.
“It’s just not fair,” he said. “So, I’m really pressing for
everyone in the community to attend Tuesday’s meeting.”
