Even when students do attend in person, the Ripley school has an empty feeling. P-J file photo

Here’s the real problem with the public sector’s perception of the $16 billion deficit that is currently facing New York state. It can be summed up in three words: Ripley Central Schools.

Smallest of the 18 Chautauqua County districts, serving less than 160 students from prekindergarten to grade six, officials and elected board members are in the midst of moving forward with plans for a nearly $3 million capital project. “No final decisions have been made and we’re still putting all the pieces in place,” said Superintendent William Caldwell recently. “If we go forward, the Board of Education isn’t scheduled to approve the project until June and the public vote wouldn’t take place until September.”

Many in Chautauqua County are quick to pin blame on Albany regarding government spending problems. But why look a five-hour drive away when you can look across the street?

Local leadership, especially in the schools, has done taxpayers no favors in the last decade. Ripley, with a budget of $9.4 million this year, is the smallest of all the county school spending plans. Ironically, it also is the district that spends the most per student.

In terms of 2020-21, it cost — based on just the numbers reported to the state — $55,952 to educate one child in the district. To be fair, however, another batch of Ripley students — those in grades seven to 12 — are tuitioned to Chautauqua Lake Central School in Mayville.

For the short term, it is a solid agreement. Those 170 secondary students receive academic courses and programs that could never be offered at its tiny district. The smaller the school, the less the curriculum has to offer.

Looking down the road is another reality. Do we really need to maintain the Ripley school district?

To someone living as an objective outsider, the answer would be a definitive no. Without this entity a proposed capital project would never be considered — especially during a pandemic. There would be no continuing increasing costs of maintaining the facility and there would be a major savings — in terms of school taxes– to town residents.

Chautauqua County’s two largest districts, which cater to more than 6,500 students, are in a different boat. Since the start of 2021 both Jamestown and Dunkirk school boards have discussed a major fiscal crisis that is looming within the next two years.

“With the thought of future considerations, my concern is not so much this year,” said Jamestown school Superintendent Kevin Whitaker.

“We’ll be fine this year. It’s a little bit next year. We’re going to have some costs that we’re going to have to trim. But the year after, and the year after, and the year after, there’s going to be some fiscal cliffs that, what we do this year and the next, is how we will survive years three, four and five. We have to be very cautious and future-looking.”

So here’s the question no one, especially in the smaller districts, wants to address: Do we keep pouring millions of dollars into districts that are serving less than 800 students — and continuing to decline — while watching the big county schools with stable enrollments struggle?

It is a delicate question — one no elected official wants to stand up and talk about when discussing major money woes. However, it is very real.

During his weekly address with local media this week, U.S. Rep. Tom Reed of Corning said he supports school consolidation, but then tiptoed as if he were criticizing a fellow state Republican. “I’m definitely open to this conversation … but that’s obviously something I can’t dictate from the federal level,” he said.

Reed, however, did acknowledge the crisis facing the state and local entities. With that being said, there should be some type of sense that we in Chautauqua County — slated to receive $306 million in state aid to keep our 18 districts going — need to sacrifice. Those who want to keep the small schools going will always defend the unnecessary spending and lack of consolidation by noting the process to eliminate a district should be a local decision.

Unfortunately, when aid from Albany — oftentimes to the tune of 65% to 75% of the budget — is keeping the district going, there is nothing local about it. All state taxpayers – from here to Plattsburgh and New York City — are pitching in without any say while inefficient and costly systems remain in place.

There has to be an urgency in putting a stop to school capital projects that are unnecessary, especially for schools housing only 160 students. If New York state’s finances are as bad as both the Democrats and Republicans are telling us, why are we investing millions to keep diminishing institutions going?

Is that really the American way? It would never happen in the private sector, which has dealt with the economic pain of the pandemic for the past 11 months.

Ripley has done its part to bolster its middle and high school students’ educational experience and opportunities by teaming with Chautauqua Lake. The community — and district — need to go a step further. Work with the current partner in Mayville and other neighboring districts of Sherman and Westfield to take on the elementary students.

That is a better option than more pouring more money into renovations at a very empty building.

John D’Agostino is the regional editor of the OBSERVER, The Post-Journal and the Times Observer in Warren, Pa. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 366-3000, ext. 253.