REGION — Opponents of the recent merger that formed Sullivan West are seeking to reverse the merger and return to three separate districts.

Motivated by the threat of alleged large increases in local taxes, the group is collecting signatures on a petition that they will submit to the State Education Department.

"We’ve got about 800 signatures from Delaware Valley taxpayers and some Jeffersonville taxpayers," said Tony Wayne, a Fremont resident who was a member of a committee that studied the merger before the vote was taken. "We haven’t organized Narrowsburg or Cochecton yet. When we do, we’ll have the 2,500 votes we need."

Wayne submitted an appeal to the State Education Department immediately after the merger vote was passed, claiming the vote had irregularities and should be nullified. His appeal was rejected by Education Commissioner Richard Mills two weeks ago.

Wayne said there should be either a new vote or a return back to three districts.

"They told us at first the new building would cost $17 million," he said. "Then it was $28 million. Now it’s something else."

Wayne complained that, because of the new merger, the school tax in the Town of Fremont went up 18 percent while in Jeffersonville/Youngsville district taxes went down 21 percent. "This is unfair to the people of Fremont," he said.

Wayne claims that there was a successful division of a school district in Long Island in which a large district was divided into three. He could not give the name of the district, however. "We’re working on getting that information."