The West Seneca Central School District is moving closer to a redistricting decision after more than three years of study aimed at balancing enrollment and improving equity in class sizes across its schools.
The West Seneca Board of Education will take more time to consider options for redistricting before making a decision that will likely result in students being sent to new schools.
At a Board of Education meeting Tuesday, Superintendent Lisa Krueger recommended the district move forward with an elementary redistricting plan for September 2026 while beginning a broader, phased overhaul of their facilities to address long-term needs.
The district’s five elementary schools have uneven enrollment. Some are at or near capacity, while others have space to accommodate more students. And West Middle School also has about 200 more students than East Middle School.
Currently, students who live east of Union Road attend Clinton Street or Northwood elementary schools before progressing to East Middle and East High schools. Those on the west side generally attend Winchester Potters, Allendale or West elementary schools, then move on to West Middle and West High schools.
Throughout the process, parents and students have voiced concerns about moving children away from friends and teachers they’ve grown close to. Krueger’s recommendation would not alleviate those concerns.
“What I want to recommend to the Board of Education and to our community is that we learn from past mistakes,” she said. “In my 16 months here in the district, I have heard feedback that that we as a district have had mistakes in the past of having short-term solutions, not comprehensive plans.”
Elementary school redistricting
Krueger believes the best option for the district is to adjust elementary boundaries to move students from Clinton Street Elementary to Northwood and from Allendale to Winchester Potters.
Students living in the southwestern portion of Clinton Street’s boundary would move to Northwood, and those in the far western section of Allendale’s boundary would move to Winchester Potters.
The plan would address class size disparities while keeping the existing east-west boundary lines, which community members said they wanted to preserve. However, it would not solve capacity issues at West Middle School.
At Clinton Street Elementary, fifth grade classes have between 27 and 29 students – above district guidelines. At Allendale Elementary, specialists are working with students in hallways and in locker rooms due to a lack of space for services like speech and physical therapy. Health and world languages teachers at West Middle School don’t have designated classrooms.
To ease crowding at West Middle School, Krueger recommended closing the pools at East and West middle schools to create new instructional spaces. The district currently has four pools – one at each high school and middle school – and is looking at a $12.6 million bill to do the necessary repairs to all four pools.
Under the proposed timeline, the district would take public comments through Oct. 31 and the school board would vote on Nov. 18. If the board votes in favor of elementary redistricting, the change would take place at the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year. A stakeholder group would then plan transition supports for affected students between January and September 2026.
Some community members have suggested adding additions to the schools facing overcrowding instead of moving students. But the cost would make this option not feasible because the state would not provide construction aid while unused space exists elsewhere, Krueger said.
“The state looks at the population that we have, our student enrollment, and the space that’s available within our district,” she said. “It would not be a wise investment for the state to invest state aid in a district that has space available.”
As part of a longer-term plan, Kruger recommended the district continue to study the feasibility of breaking up elementary schools into pre-kindergarten through second grade in one building and third through fifth grade in another.
On the west side, pre-K through second grade would be at Allendale and Winchester Potters and third, fourth and fifth grades would go to West Elementary. On the east side, pre-K through second grade would go to Clinton and third through fifth graders would be at Northwood.
“This would allow us to bring equity in a greater way to our class sizes,” she said.
Facilities improvements
Krueger outlined a broader plan to modernize facilities, improve efficiency and reduce maintenance costs. She recommended selling the district’s Ebenezer building, repurposing Winchester Academy as a family support center, and consolidating administrative offices.
The Ebenezer building, which houses administrative offices but no students, needs about $20 million in repairs over the next five years and is not eligible for state aid.
“By selling the Ebenezer building, it would eliminate ongoing maintenance of that building,” Krueger said. “By selling this building, we can invest the proceeds to alleviate future capital improvement projects and take care of that local share for our taxpayers or invest in our other schools.”
The West Seneca Board of Education is set to make a final decision this month on its redistricting plans.
Under her plan, Winchester Academy would become a family support center. The building would host the director of pupil personnel services, the central registration office, district social work services and the clothing closet. The space could be a good location for a Boys and Girls Club, as well as a health and dental clinic.
BOCES currently leases all of Winchester Academy from the district, but BOCES use of the space will decrease in fall of 2027 when its expansion site on Walden Avenue opens.
The former East Elementary School, located on the East Middle campus, would serve as the district’s main administrative hub.
The district also needs to consider building a new transportation facility. The current facility, located on the campus of West High School, needs more than $10 million in repairs within the next five years and doesn’t have enough space for the district to expand its bus fleet, which makes it reliant on contracted bus services.
She also urged the district to consider specialized “high schools of choice” – one focused on STEM and another on visual and performing arts – rather than maintaining mirrored East and West programs.
“My recommendation is that we start to tear down this great divide that divides east and west and allow our students choice and opportunity to go to a school that has specialized programs and specialized learning environments to best meet their needs,” she said.
A phased approach
Krueger emphasized that redistricting should be only the first step in a multi-year process.
“I’m recommending that we do not approach this as a one and done,” she said. “That we approach this rather as a phase-in process that’s going to serve us well long term with the first step going into effect fall of 2026.”
Her proposed timeline:
• September 2026: Implement elementary redistricting.
• September 2027: Open Winchester Academy family support center and relocate central offices.
• September 2028: Reconfigure elementary schools to pre-K through second grade and grades 3, 4 and 5.
• 2029 and beyond: Renovate middle schools, relocate transportation facility and develop specialized high schools.
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Natalie Brophy
Reporter
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