The superintendents from Sherman, Clymer and Panama school districts have taken another step toward the possibility of sharing a Director of Transportation, members of the Sherman Central School District Board of Education learned at their meeting this month.

Sherman Superintendent Carrie Yohe told board members that the three superintendents discussed the pros and cons of creating the position.

“The general consensus is that it’s a great idea, but we have to do it carefully, do it properly and do it slowly,” she said. “This is going to take us some time.”

Yohe emphasized that, if the position is created for next year, the current transportation heads in each district would not lose their jobs. The director would oversee all three schools, she said.

If created, the job would be a civil service position, Yohe said. There is the potential that the person hired could be promoted from within, based on the information the superintendents have reviewed.

Some of the issues that need further discussion include the substitute bus driver rate and restructuring the bus runs, Yohe said.

“The purpose is not to make longer runs, but to increase efficiency,” she said. “The first year, the runs would not necessarily change.”

In a related matter, Yohe spoke about the increasing encouragement from the state to implement regionalization among school districts in a particular area.

“It is not for merging schools,” she said. “It’s to look at our resources and how best to use them.”

Regionalization encompasses such areas as state aid, teacher shortages, academics, budgets and teacher attrition. A workshop is scheduled for Oct. 30 and school board members are asked to attend, if possible. Board President Teresa Guzman urged board members to attend.

“This is something we absolutely have to know about,” she said.

Yohe also updated the board on the capital project meeting. The district learned that the state Education Department review of the project will take longer than nine months.

“Now they are saying, we might not be able to start until September 2026,” she said. “There’s no way that any of us can see this project being completed with only one heavy construction. We need two heavy construction times.”

Because of this, the district has decided to pay for a third party review, Yohe said.

“It will cost us a bit more, but we will be able to better follow our timeline,” she said.

In other business, Sherman Principal Leslie Melquist reported that the half day on Sept. 27 was a “great day.” The day focused on team-building exercises and then the middle and high school students went to the Jamestown Ice Arena for more team-building activities.

Melquist also noted that the district’s fall festival is scheduled for Oct. 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the athletic field.