The proposed merger of the Center Area and Monaca school districts was just one sentence away from a permanent breakup on March 11.

Presented with an unpalatable mix of segregated elementary schools, Center control of the new school board and the retention of Center's Trojan mascot, Monaca board President Bill Temple got direct with his Center counterpart, Richard "Bucky" Nicastro: "If you do not get these three things, is the merger pretty much over?"

"Yeah, it is," Mr. Nicastro replied.

The next sentence from Mr. Temple might have ended the three-year-long consolidation effort for good -- except that he didn't have a chance to speak. Center Superintendent Dan Matsook jumped in, saying "before we go there, let's go back to our boards."

That may turn out to be a turning point in the whole consolidation effort, which came sputtering to a halt after six new members joined the Center board in December.

The Center board spent its meeting last Thursday blunting the edge of what had appeared to be an ultimatum, and at another meeting Tuesday softened its stance still further.

The board conceded that state law and the county board of elections would have a say in voting districts, and said the issue of school colors and mascot was being blown way out of proportion by the public.

As for where children would go to school -- the condition identified by the Monaca board as the most significant -- that is "not a hill we're going to die on," board member Greg Paladina said.

The Monaca board, meanwhile, spent its meeting also last Thursday going over Center's proposal point-by-point, talking about how best to respond. By Tuesday, it had prepared a letter and a three-page response, which was delivered to the Center board at its meeting.

The response agreed with none of Center's conditions, but in disagreeing called for further study and discussion. And the accompanying letter noted that the responses "are intended to provide the members of the Center board with the Monaca School District's current position on each of the issues and should not be interpreted as conditions for the merger."

Dr. Matsook said at Center's board meeting last Thursday that board members would review Monaca's response and be prepared to discuss it when members of the two boards get together again Tuesday.

"I believe we're moving forward," he said. "I think we're closer now than we've ever been, honestly."

There is, however, still a significant gap between the two sides' stances.

On Center's proposed 7-2 board makeup with Center holding the majority of seats, Monaca countered with a proposal to form a subcommittee of the two boards to look at state law, consult with the two board solicitors and come up with a recommendation.

"It is important that the new board is not perceived as being structured to serve the interests of a specific group or geographic location within the district," Monaca's response says.

On Center's proposals of "Center-Monaca" as the name of the new district, the addition of Monaca red to Center's blue and gray and the retention of Center's Trojan mascot, Monaca said it would prefer to "develop a process to allow the students to select the name, colors, mascot and alma mater for the new district."

Board members on both sides said the issue was unimportant.

"I couldn't frankly give a damn about colors and mascots," Monaca member Mel Mikulich said at the Monaca meeting Thursday.

"To say that colors would impact the decision on a merger is preposterous, and is offensive," Mr. Paladina said at Center's Tuesday meeting, saying bloggers and some news reports have given the issue weight it does not deserve.

On the mercantile tax, which is levied in Center but not Monaca, Center proposed that it stay intact unless the state is willing to make up the difference. Monaca's response proposes following advice from the state Department of Education and seeking help from the state legislature if necessary.

Those issues are minor, though, compared with the final one: Center's proposal to use the Monaca Junior/Senior High School as an elementary school for all Monaca children through sixth grade. Center elementary children would go to Center Grange Primary Center K-2 and Todd Lane Elementary 3-6, with all students 7-12 in the Center Middle School/High School complex.

It's a plan that would keep the Center and Monaca children separate for their first seven years of school. The original plan was to have children through grades 5 or 6 attend Center Grange and Todd Lane schools and use Monaca high school as a middle school.

Monaca's response to that proposal lists 17 educational advantages to the original plan. In essence, it says that the original plan would create room for innovative programs at both the high school and middle school level, would give all the children the best access to the best facilities, and would eliminate duplication of staff and services.

Center's proposal, Monaca's response says, would overcrowd Center Middle School/High School, would put young Monaca children in a building designed for high schoolers and would create a psychological division between the children from the two different communities.

It would also, Monaca's response says, create enough duplication that three or four more staff members would be needed. Center's proposal dismisses that impact as "minimal"; Monaca's response notes that it would be an extra annual cost of $300,000 to $600,000.

"... [B]oard members have two options from which to choose," Monaca's response says. "One of the options better meets the needs of the students while at the same time it is more cost effective. As public servants, there appears to be but one choice."

At Center's meeting, Dr. Matsook said the board had analyzed a number of options, including putting all the children in Center's existing schools as well as bringing Monaca children into Center for high school on a tuition basis.

"On paper it made sense" to create a neighborhood elementary school for Monaca, Mr. Paladina said, "but there are some issues we have to look at with the school there."

Dr. Matsook said he wanted to put together a study analyzing the pros and cons of various configurations, and that he hopes residents won't jump to conclusions in the meantime.

At least one Center board member has no problem with the idea of sending Center children to Monaca for middle school, however.

"In the past we have done a middle school play or musical," Rob Gradisek said. "One reason we don't anymore is that we don't have the facility. We have to share the auditorium with the high school."

With all the middle school children in one place, in a building of their own with full facilities, "we can put the middle school musical back on the schedule, along with concerts and other events," he said.

The same is true of athletics, said Mr. Gradisek, one of three holdovers from the previous Center board and a supporter of the consolidation as originally proposed. With a gym and athletic fields of their own, middle school athletes could have programs without working around the high school schedule.

Mr. Gradisek also noted the irony of the Center board's apparent willingness to pay for three or four extra staff members to create a Monaca-only elementary school.

"During the campaign, we got hounded for raising taxes," he said. "If it's going to cost more money, why would you do this?"