By LINDA KELLETT

C-S-E News Staff

The curtain may yet go up on a revised drama program at Canajoharie and Fort Plain school districts.

That’s according to Canajoharie and Fort Plain school officials, who updated their respective school board members about efforts to replace the director of the Canajoharie-Fort Plain Drama Club.

Former Director Sarah Ells departed last June.

High School Principal David Barnes told Canajoharie School Board members last Thursday that officials and staff from both districts met last week to work out a proposal for the program’s renewal. As with the loss of any person who’s been involved with a program for an extended period, “it’s disruptive,” he said.

Barnes said the proposed program would be a little different than what had been in place before. He said the previous director was a contractor, funded through the Arts in Education co-services program at BOCES to serve the students of both districts.

On Tuesday, Fort Plain District Superintendent Douglas Burton told Fort Plain School Board members that the districts attempted to contract with another professional through BOCES to come in and work with the students, but there were no applicants.

Burton said, “BOCES has advertised but has not found anyone, so that began a discussion” among the various district officials.

“We think we can do it ourselves,” he said.

The districts’ new approach will be to make use of a team of advisors currently employed by Fort Plain schools “who want to do this and want to make this work,” Barnes said.

He indicated that the staff members were involved with the drama program in the past, “but now they’ll take more of a leadership role than they had.”

As with combined sports programs such as swimming, cross-country and wrestling that are currently shared by the schools, Barnes said both districts would “help pay the freight.”

“We’re looking at a very similar type of structure for this so we can continue our drama program. We hope to invigorate it and get more kids involved,” Barnes said.

Canajoharie District Superintendent Deborah Grimshaw said there’s currently no grant money available for the program; and Burton noted that because the districts would be doing it themselves, they would not be able to get BOCES aid.

He said, “The funding we set up through Arts in Education is not available when you are doing it on your own. That [aid] is based on having someone from the outside come in.”

He thought funding the project through the existing year’s budget was do-able, however. Both districts would need to chip in $6,000 to $8,000 each, Burton estimated.

Grimshaw said Fort Plain personnel would draw up the budget.

She said the hope is that this will be a “seed year,” in which the club receives money to get the program off the ground. Ticket sales and fund raisers will hopefully help make the club self-sustaining “over time,” Grimshaw added.

She said district staff approached BOCES officials about the possibility of running the combined program through the agency; however that currently isn’t an option.

Because of timing issues, Barnes said there will most likely be no fall production; however a mid-winter elementary-level production and a spring musical are anticipated. Future productions would be held at either or both venues.

Unfortunately, there’s no money for a summer production. Grimshaw noted that Ells did summer programs on her own. “[The summer program] has to go away because there are no funds to do that,” she said.

Additionally, because Valley Voices had limited participation and small audiences, the student-generated one-acts probably will not take place.

Despite any drawbacks, Burton said, “I think it could be a good thing for both communities. We’ve had some very, very good productions, and the ones I’ve attended have been excellent. The children love them and gain so much from them that neither superintendent wants to see us lose out on a drama production for our students.”