LaFayette school district considers not overseeing Onondaga Nation school

The LaFayette school district is considering not renewing its contract with New York state to oversee and operate the Onondaga Nation School, according to a district official.

The contract to operate the school ended June 30, 2016 and the school district and Nation are looking at other options for who would operate the school, a pre-kindergarten to eighth-grade school for the nation’s children.

Onondaga Nation officials said the district first broached the idea of LaFayette dropping its contract to oversee the school.

Joseph Heath, Onondaga Nation attorney, said the nation would prefer not to sever its contractual ties with the district. It would rather work with the district to resolve issues over the nation’s input into the operation of the school, he said.

Heath said that’s difficult because the district “continues to make unilateral decisions without the input of the nation.”