Schools merger proposal killed by Manor, Roscoe voters

Town of Rockland, NY – Voters in the Livingston Manor and Roscoe school districts put an end to the merger process Wednesday, Oct. 26, by voting against the merger in the advisory referendum.

The measure was voted down by a vote of 213 to 197 in Livingston Manor, and 193 to 155 in Roscoe.

Wednesday’s voting ends a process that began at the end of 2021 with the decision to undertake a merger study. Had a majority of voters in both districts approved the proposal, a second, binding vote would have been held in December.

Superintendent John Evans offered his thanks to the members of the Merger Advisory Committee and the Board of Education members who have put time into many merger meetings since the start of the year, and to the voters who came out on Wednesday.

“We have learned a lot through this process, and we hope this will show us new ways for our two districts to continue to work together,” Evans said.

The districts have one year to revisit the question of merger if they choose to do so. After that time, a new study would be needed if the districts wished to merge.