Concerned parents, educators and residents have said that Daniel J., on the possibility of a merger with 26 Institute St. of the sports program in the auditorium at the Fulsburg Central School District and the Fulsburg Central School auditorium. We will listen on Monday to meet Dr. Cook Brief attendees. It included SWCS Principal Maureen Donahue and school officials from both organizations. PJ Photo by Christopher Blakesley
FREWSBURG – Southwestern Central School Trojans and the Fulsburg Bears may soon play under one banner.
A useful meeting was held on Monday at the auditorium at Fulsburg Central School, where the second meeting was held at Southwestern Central School on Tuesday. Both school districts are exploring options to revolve around the possibility of mergers of individual sports programs under one unified banner.
Dr. Daniel J. Cook of Fulsburg explained that both Fulsburg and SWC are facing a decline in student population, making it difficult for schools to protect competitive sports teams.
“Schools have experienced a significant decline in enrollment across the state, creating challenges by protecting their athletic programs,” Cook said.
Cook added that from 2013 to 2014, New York state enrolled around 2.6 million students in the school system statewide. During this same time slot, Southwestern schools had 1,421 students and Fulsburg had 810 students. Student enrollment has reduced 200,000 students across the state, but local districts have a higher percentage of population loss than the state average.
“In the same period, Southwestern’s student population was 1,421 from 2013 to 2014, and that number fell by 1,283 or 7.7% between 2023 and 2024. Similarly, here in Fuseburg, there was a student population of 810. There were students, and between 2023 and 2024 there was a loss of 97 students, or a student population down 11.9%. This issue is happening across the state, but it’s been hit really hard here in western New York. ” Cook said.
Southwestern manager Maureen Donohue said last year there were 110 graduates in the Southwest upper classes, and they are beginning to see students with a total of 90 or less in class sizes.
Additionally, the following sports programs are being investigated for the potential NYS shared athletics classification between SWC and Frewsburg for the 2025-2026 academic year:
– Autumn: Soccer, Cheerleading, Soccer (boys), Cross Country (boys and girls), Tennis (girls), Volleyball (girls).
– Winter: Wrestling (boys and girls), bowling (girls and boys), swimming (boys).
– Spring: Flag Football (Girls); Tennis (Boys) and Golf (Girls and Boys)
The Shared Athletics Program upgrades the following sporting events to the next category NYS classification for two schools:
– Autumn Sports: Soccer, Class C; Cheerleading, Class C; Soccer, Class B; Cross Country (Girls and Boys), Class C; Tennis (Girls) Division II. Volleyball, Class B
– Winter Sports: Wrestling (boys and girls), Division II. Bowling (girls and boys) Division II and swimming (boys), Class A (unchanged)
– Spring Sports: Flag Football (Girls), Class C; Tennis (Boys), Division II, and Golf (Girls and Boys) Division II.
Cook says she is a product of an academic early childhood sports program and that children deserve a high quality, well-run sports program that allows them to participate, compete, learn and thrive safely. I did it.
After the presentation, Fresburg resident Kim Weaver, a parent of two teenage boys, said there were good and bad points about the merger, and she thought about the possibility of participating in two sports programs. I said it was open.
“So we can’t deny that the school’s population is declining,” she said. “There are good points about the merger, not that good. There are still many questions that need to be answered.”
Cook said he felt the meeting was going smoothly and was pleased with the public dialogue between the two administrations and those involved.
