Masera Steering Committee to hold its first meeting on March 16

The Masera Steering Committee will meet for the first time on Wednesday, March 16 at the Beach Street Middle School’s Library-Media Center. The Steering Committee consists of 13 community members and is a subset of the 32 member Advisory Committee that was selected by the Board of Education and met on February 16. The Steering Committee will research options for the site, including a risk/reward consideration, over the course of several meetings with the ultimate goal of presenting its findings and reaching a consensus among the Advisory Committee on a recommendation to the Board of Education. The Masera building has been vacant since the District’s lease expired with BOCES in June 2019.

The Advisory Committee met for the first time on February 16; half met in a morning session and the other half in an evening session. Members listed what they felt were the critical issues and questions concerning the site's future and a list of those for each session is included on the District’s website. The Steering Committee was then selected on March 1 by the Board of Education based on survey responses coupled with the desire to have a Committee that is a cross section of the different interests of the community. At some point there may be subject matter experts included in the process to share their expertise on a particular topic. The ultimate decision on the site’s future will be made by the Board of Education and is subject to voter approval should the decision involve a sale of the property or should any portion of the Capital Reserve be used. Kathleen Blackburn Ed.D., who has a background of working in the education industry and is the Executive Director of the consulting firm TregoED, will facilitate meetings for both committees.

All meetings are open to the public should anyone wish to attend as an audience member and minutes will be posted on the district’s website. A request for the Steering Committee meetings to be recorded and posted to the District’s website was denied which is a missed opportunity for the community to be informed on what was discussed including the rationale on how conclusions were reached in a way that meeting minutes fall short.

Information about the Masera Advisory and Steering Committees can be obtained on the district’s website http://www.wi.k12.ny.us/