Monaca school directors have decided to keep the district's 35 fifth-graders in the Monaca Junior-Senior High School building next year for their sixth-grade classes.

The decision illustrated how unforeseen complexities can arise as Monaca School District merges with the Center Area School District. It also demonstrated that some differences still exist between the two districts on one of the merger's central issues.

Where to place Monaca's sixth-graders became an issue because the merger, which was approved in June, calls for blending kindergarten through fifth grade in both districts next year and combining grades six through 12 for the 2010-11 year.

By following the merger plan, the 35 youngsters would be the only Monaca students in the Center Area middle school/high school complex next year.

"It's just one of those situations that didn't occur to anyone initially," Center Superintendent Dan Matsook said.

The two school boards grappled with the issue separately in their meetings last Thursday night. The Center board decided that although the district would welcome the children, it was Monaca's decision.

The Monaca board decided to keep the students as a sort of stand-alone class so they can merge with the rest of the high school and middle school students the following year.

The reasoning, however, illustrates that a split still exists in how the two boards regard the middle school question.

At Center, board member Ben Fratangeli talked about where to house the Monaca sixth-graders "while we figure out what to do about middle school."

At Monaca, board member Pam Ronczka said it made sense to keep the children in Monaca's high school "because they'd just be moving back here the next year anyway."

In other words, Monaca board members generally are assuming that the Monaca high school building will be used as a middle school starting with the 2010-11 year. Center board members generally are assuming that the issue is still up in the air, awaiting a feasibility study from Foreman Architects Engineers, of Zelienople.

That's a key difference. The question of where to put the middle school was a major issue in the spring, one that almost killed the merger. Monaca wanted to stay with the original plan, which placed kindergarten through fifth grade in Center schools, grades six through eight in Monaca's high school and grades nine through 12 in Center's middle school-high school complex. It was a plan favored by the educational experts involved, too, because it created a true middle school and provided ample space for various uses.

A group of Center board members, however, believed there would be substantial savings by closing Monaca's high school and putting both the middle school and high school in Center's buildings.

That disagreement led to the June compromise. The two boards agreed to go ahead and merge the elementary grades, while waiting a year and studying the middle school and high school options.

By the time the study was commissioned last month, the merger had been approved by the state and tensions between the boards had eased. Center board member Rob Gradisek questioned whether the study was still needed; could the boards, he asked, simply agree to the original plan with the separate middle school?

Dr. Matsook and Superintendent Mike Thomas of Monaca headed that question off, noting that the study would be needed even if that is the decision that is ultimately reached. The study will include recommended renovations to use Monaca's building as a middle school.

Every expert opinion so far has favored creating a separate middle school in Monaca, and few of those involved believe Foreman Architects Engineers will come to a different conclusion.

But Dr. Matsook said his board is still awaiting the results of the study before making any decision. Until then, the question remains a live one in Center's boardroom.

"It's something we're going to have to talk about so we can make sure we're on the same page," he said.