October 2005: After talking about a merger study, superintendents Dan Matsook of Center Area and Mike Thomas of Monaca raise the issue with their board presidents and vice presidents.

November 2005: Center Area and Monaca school boards authorize a merger study.

May 2006: Consulting firm Ingraham Dancu & Associates issues a report on five options, from making no changes to a full merger.

September 2006-February 2007: Both districts create an educational plan.

February 2007: The boards hire Education Management Group of Harrisburg to analyze the financial impact of a merger.

May 2007: Five candidates for the Center Area school board, running on a platform of skepticism of the merger, defeat five pro-merger incumbents for the Democratic nominations in the primary.

Sept. 24, 2007: Education Management Group projects $1.5 million in annual savings and says Center Area's 50.2-mill real estate tax rate could be lowered to Monaca's 45-mill rate.

Oct. 18, 2007: The boards approve the merger by a 7-2 vote in Center and a 6-3 vote in Monaca.

Nov. 6, 2007: Center Area voters elect five challengers over five pro-merger incumbents.

Dec. 18, 2007: The Center Area board is set to vote to withdraw its merger application but pulls the item from the agenda, leaving the merger application on hold, after state Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak promises to delay state action on the application until the board is ready to move forward.

Jan. 17, 2008: Center Area board President Richard Nicastro orders a halt to talks on merger issues. Pro-merger members of the board complain they were not consulted and no vote was taken.

March 11, 2008: The Center Area board, in a private meeting, offers to consolidate with Monaca if Monaca agrees to a board consisting of seven Center Area seats and two Monaca seats and to use Monaca High School as an elementary school for Monaca children. Monaca board President Bill Temple refuses.

April 17, 2008: Center Area board members question school capacities offered by the superintendents. Several push for closing Monaca schools and placing the children in Center Area schools.

May 2008: Monaca board leaders say if no agreement is reached soon, they will delay the merger for at least two years. Mr. Temple says another district has contacted him about merging if the Center Area proposal falls through.

May 29, 2008: In a private meeting, leaders of the two boards agree to a phased merger, with elementary grades consolidating in fall 2009 and the middle and high school in fall 2010. A new study will assess whether to use Monaca High School as a middle school, delaying a decision that has been a stumbling block.

June 12, 2008: The two boards ratify the compromise.

Aug. 18, 2008: The state Board of Education holds a public hearing on the merger. About 50 attend; three people speak, including the two superintendents.

Sept. 8, 2008: The Center Area board says it will ask for a delay in state approval unless a compromise is reached on the mercantile tax, which is levied in Center Area but not in Monaca. The Monaca board, in response, cancels a joint meeting.

Sept. 15, 2008: Center Area's Ben Fratangeli casts the swing vote against asking for the delay in the state vote. State Rep. Vince Biancucci, D-Center, has legislation in the works to allow the new district to keep the mercantile tax if desired.

Sept. 18, 2008: The state board unanimously approves the merger and sets the official date as July 1, 2009.

Oct. 8, 2008: The state Legislature passes a law allowing districts created through consolidation to enact mercantile taxes if one of the merging districts levies such a tax.

Oct. 23, 2008: The two school boards approve an plan to trim the new board from 18 members to nine through two election cycles and to designate Monaca as one of three voting regions.

Nov. 4, 2008: Mr. Biancucci loses his re-election bid. A backlash against the mercantile tax in Monaca is a factor.

March 12, 2009: The superintendents tell the boards they have commitments for $836,000 in state funding and a promise of $500,000 from the federal stimulus package. The money addresses a complaint that the state had not kept a promise to cover one-time merger costs.

March 26, 2008: John Hummel of Foreman Architects recommends using Monaca's high school as a middle school.

April 20, 2009: Nineteen teachers from the two districts accept an early retirement incentive plan.

May 14, 2009: The two boards, meeting jointly, approve a preliminary 2009-10 budget with two compromises -- a 47.4-mill tax rate and a mercantile tax plan that exempts the first $200,000 of a business's receipts.

June 11, 2009: Monaca board President Mike Halama resigns, upset about the property tax rate, the mercantile tax, private discussions on the superintendency and his perception of the influence of politics on the Center Area board.

June 11, 2009: The boards jointly approve a preliminary budget with a 46.8-mill tax rate.

July 1, 2009: The Central Valley school board holds its first meeting. Monaca's Mel Mikulich is elected president; Center Area's Rob Gradisek is vice president. Dr. Matsook is named superintendent of schools; Dr. Thomas is superintendent of merger affairs.