TONTOGANY — The Otsego Local Schools Board of Education listened to a presentation on Thursday regarding the 150th anniversary of Tontogany.
The village will be celebrating its anniversary on Aug. 9, 2025, with a parade.
“What we’re doing as part of the celebration is getting a trolley and doing a little tour around the village. We want the parade to be large for next year,” said Mayor Matt Shanahan, Tontogany Mayor. “It is the same weekend as Tontogany Fest, so we are hoping to bring a lot of people in.”
The Christmas tree lighting will take place this year on Dec. 1.
“I can say with confidence that we have grown from a 20-person Christmas tree lighting to one that has about 200 people,” Shanahan said. “We really make it a nice downtown community.”
The school board is preparing for the 2024-2025 school year with a staggered start. Grades 3-5 and 6-9 start on Aug. 21. Grades 7-8 and 10-12 start on Aug. 22. The families of preschool-grade 2 will be notified of their child’s first day.
“With the cuts we made, we have been very busy moving roles and responsibilities around, but things are getting into place and we will be ready to welcome students back in the next few weeks,” said Kevin O’Shea, Otsego superintendent. “I am incredibly proud of our entire faculty and staff for how they have handled all of this. They are simply the best and I am very excited to get the year started with all of them and get back to doing what we do best, which is providing everything we can for our students.”
The next board meeting will take place on Aug. 22 at 6 p.m. at the Otsego High School library.
