Members of the Fairport and Perinton public met on January 9 in the new Fairport High School cafeteria to share their thoughts and questions about the upcoming merger of Minerva DeLand and Fairport High School. FCSD staff, parents and students addressed the Fairport Board of Education and administrators with recommendations for the best ways to enact the merger. The Board passed a resolution in May 2019 to combine the ninth grade classes with the other three grades at Fairport High School.

At the January 9 workshop, Fairport staff and residents reiterated their expectation that the staff of Minerva DeLand and Fairport High School play a central role in the execution of the merger, both for the sake of the staff and to ensure a supportive transition for Fairport students. The Board was enthusiastic about ensuring that major stakeholders play a pivotal role in creating an action plan for the merger. 

The Board heard comments on the use of Minerva DeLand after the merger, with an emphasis on the importance of the facility to the District and to the public. The Board has expectations that Minerva DeLand will remain a District property and will continue to house essential District offices, gymnasium spaces, maker spaces and a potential UPK facility. The District could also have the option to lease space in Minerva DeLand to qualifying agencies.

The Board reiterated its commitment to the original reasons for approving the merger, including a reduction in the number of school transitions made throughout a Fairport student’s time in the District and an expansion of access for ninth-grade students to the academic and extracurricular programming available at FHS. 

The Board also emphasized that the power of Fairport’s extraordinary school community is in its people – in its teachers, staff and students. The merger of Minerva DeLand and Fairport High School will give ninth-grade students the opportunity to develop relationships with their fellow students of all grades and with the caring and supportive adults at FHS.

Members of the public, along with Fairport students and staff, are invited to three additional events to learn more about the merger, the Board’s priorities for the merger and how best to support the extraordinary communities at Minerva DeLand and Fairport High School:

• Fairport Board of Education Business Meeting
  • Residents must sign up to speak – contact the District Clerk via phone at (585) 421-2010
  • January 17, 2023
  • 7:30 p.m.
  • Fairport High School Cafeteria

• Fairport Board of Education Workshop (Facilities Planning)
  • No public comment, public invited to attend
  • February 6, 2023
  • 5 p.m.
  • Fairport High School Cafeteria

• Fairport Board of Education Business Meeting
  • Residents must sign up to speak – contact the District Clerk via phone at (585) 421-2010.
  • February 14, 2023
  • 6:30 p.m.
  • Fairport High School Cafeteria