Board To Meet Amid Community Questions

COOPERSTOWN—The Cooperstown Board of Education will hold its monthly meeting in the Elementary School library at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 20. This meeting will take place under a cloud of rumor and speculation in the community. Multiple local residents contacted “The Freeman’s Journal” and “Hometown Oneonta” before press time on Tuesday, December 19 with claims that a top administrator had been removed from their position. These reports have not been confirmed; school administrators and board members have not returned calls or e-mails for comment or clarification.

A number of parents expressed frustration at the perceived tendency for district personnel to keep the public in the dark, and some drew comparisons to the public statements to the same effect by many teachers at the October and November board meetings. One local resident noted that Cooperstown students have begun spreading wild rumors about the alleged termination due to a lack of concrete information.

Cooperstown has suffered from high turnover among administrators and educators alike in recent years. There have been seven high school principals since the summer of 2016, not counting interim or acting incumbents. Whatever the case, the December board meeting is sure to be well-attended. Further updates will be made when more information is available.