Pine Valley Central School District residents have a chance to make a serious change to the way their school operates and possibly save some money.

Last week, district superintendent Scott Payne announced he will take a new job as Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES superintendent and CEO in July, meaning Pine Valley will be looking for a new superintendent. The position, according to Seethroughny.net, paid about $137,000 in 2018-19.

There are possibly ways to save some of that salary expense if district taxpayers want to do so. The district currently has both an elementary and a high school principal, so the district could merge the principal positions into a K-12 principal position and then hire a superintendent. That may be difficult considering the elementary school principal is also the district’s director of special education, but if it were possible the district could eliminate one position and save money that could be spent on classroom expenses. Or, the district could reach out to its neighboring school districts and pursue a shared superintendent similar to the arrangement Clymer and Panama had for several years. Sharing the position would allow the district to cut by at least half the expense of its highest-paid position. Forestville or Randolph may be possible partners due to their locations.

This can be done. It’s been done before with great success and savings and no work fell through the cracks. Ask any private business if they have had to merge positions in the past or if they will in the future if it can be done. They will tell you they have — and that they will again.

Looking to save money makes sense. While school taxes aren’t proposed to increase in the budget that voters will have before them next week, spending is proposed to increase by $1.3 million in the proposed 2019-20 district budget. If such increases are needed to provide a quality education, then school board members owe it to taxpayers to make sure they are taking every opportunity to save money on the administrative side of the budget.