Members of the public asked for more transparency regarding the proposed Maple Grove football merger with Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton at a meeting Tuesday. P-J file photo

The future of the Maple Grove football program remains in limbo following a community meeting held Tuesday.

Parents, school officials and community members gathered to discuss the proposed change after a formal request was submitted to Section VI athletics on March 21 that the Red Dragons be allowed to re-combine their program with Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton, which would result in a four-district Class B team for the 2021-22 fall season.

Many of those in attendance questioned the transparency of the merger process thus far, and asked to have more input as stakeholders moving forward.

“I am still learning and there are decisions that I have made that I wish I could go back and do over. This is one of them,” Bemus Point School District Superintendent Joe Reyda said of the proceedings. “If it were possible to take a time-turner and go back to Dec. 17 or go back to the very beginning of December to involve you I would.”

It was in mid-December that Reyda opened discussions with various parties about the possibility of merging the football program with another district as a result of decreasing enrollment numbers.

Maple Grove was merged with Chautauqua Lake from 2013-15, and elected to play eight-man football in 2019.

Due to changes in Section VI policy, a potential new merger would result in a Class B program.

School board members were first notified of these discussions on Jan. 22, and the topic was first addressed at a formal meeting on Feb. 8.

Community meetings were then held on March 23 to explain the recommended merger, and the Bemus Point board has yet to formally approve the partnership.

The Chautauqua Lake School District Board of Education elected to approve the merger at its March 24 meeting.

“We’re excited to have a partnership with Maple Grove again,” Amy Webb, CLCS board president, said Tuesday evening. “It is an exciting opportunity for student-athletes from all four districts.”

Approval would be required from all the district boards involved moving forward.

“The four school districts have to put in an application,” Reyda said. “The application is to the section that asks ‘we would like permission to move forward as a shared program.’ Each school district has to officially approve that.”

In addition to voicing their concerns about not being involved in or informed about the process, several parents also questioned the decision to have football players make the jump from Class D to Class B after a season during which the program has struggled.

Reyda explained that during his work to find possible merger options, other programs were considered including Southwestern and the combined team of Cassadaga Valley/Falconer.

Factors such as class sizes, travel distances, program histories and feedback from athletic directors, Reyda explained, went into his decision to pursue a merger with Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton.

Some in attendance petitioned for a request to withdraw the merger application from Section VI, and it was ultimately decided that a school board committee be formed to handle the issue with more transparency and a focus on player safety.

Reyda expressed a desire to continue the process with added community input.

Kathy Burnett, Maple Grove athletic director; Julie Verdonik, high school principal; and members of the board were on hand to share their perspectives on the merger.

The board is scheduled to meet next on May 10.