Westfield Academy and Central School Board of Education members received September’s enrollment numbers from Superintendent Michael Cipolla at the regular meeting on Sep. 9. He noted that in August, there were 640 students enrolled and that the number increased to 651 by the start of the new school year.

Elementary Principal Molly Anderson also reviewed enrollment numbers for pre-K through grade five. She presented the following numbers: prekindergarten, 32; kindergarten, 39; first, 35; second, 36; third, 31; fourth, 44; and fifth, 58. Board members expressed satisfaction regarding the district’s continued growth. “I am pleased to see the enrollment numbers for Pre-kindergarten increase from what was originally projected,” said board member Tom Tarpley

In a related matter, Anderson reported the first week of school went very well. “Thank you for a great first week, Westfield Elementary! We love having our students back!” she said. “We appreciate all of our families, the PTO, and community organizations that attended Open House.”

Secondary Principal Corey Markham reported the middle and high schools had a very good first day. “We had seven class meetings in this room throughout the day,” he said.

Markham also told the board that Spirit Week will be from Sept. 30 through Oct. 5. Spirit Week involves all Homecoming activities, including the Homecoming Game.

In other business, Anderson reported that the YWCA Before and After School Program is still awaiting final state approval. She told board members that the Jamestown YWCA has been very helpful and she noted that the application is nearing state approval. “A lot of the things in the application are fully cleared,” she said.

Anderson and Director of Instruction & Special Education, Lauren Harper told board members that opening days for staff were well received. The highlight was a presentation by Bill Daggett on AI.

Daggett, who is the founder of both the Successful Practices Network and the International Center for Leadership in Education, presented “AI-Enhancing our Instruction & Student Engagement.”

“Dr. Bill Daggett delivered a great message to staff on the shifts in student development and practical ways for staff to use AI to increase efficiency where appropriate,” Anderson said.

Harper went on to say that Daggett did not just talk about how to keep students from abusing AI. “He spoke about how we have to adjust to meet the needs of a diverse student population,” she said. “He explained how teachers can differentiate instruction and improve efficiency using AI.”

In another matter, board members officially accepted the results of the Sept. 5 Capital Improvements Project Vote Proposition 1, which resulted in 353 Yes votes and 234 No votes.

“A special thank you to our school community and to everyone who came out to vote,” said Cipolla. “Now that the Capital Improvement Project has been approved, it kick-starts a lot of things for us.”

Cipolla went on to describe the timeline for the project. The next step is for our architects to begin the design phase and submission to the state Education Department. This is a lengthy process, he said. The submission to State Education will occur around April, he added. “They will go back and forth with questions for our architects,” he said.

Cipolla went on to say that the project should be underway in the fall 2025. “October 2025 is a key date for us, And by the fall of 2027, we expect completion of our project,” he said. “We will keep everyone up to date as to our timeline.”

During the period of board commentary, Tom Tarpley drew attention to the recent article in The Post-Journal, “Bemus Point community votes down school’s electric bus proposition.” “With the defeat of the electric school bus measure in Bemus Point on Sept. 5, we have now seen voters at each end of the state reject proposals related to electric school buses,” he said.

Tarpley went on to say that voters throughout the state are expressing reservations about electric buses. “It is incumbent on the WACS Board of Education to see what is happening throughout the state, and to be prepared to address the issues that voters have with electric buses such as cost and student safety,” he said.