BERNARDSTON — During their second joint meeting at the Bernardston Senior Center Wednesday night, North County officials agreed to significantly change the goals of a new ad-hoc committee they’ve been arranging for the past two weeks.
The officials, which included members of the selectboards and finance committees from Northfield, Bernardston, Leyden and Warwick, along with Pioneer Valley Regional School District committee members, originally planned on forming an 11-member committee that would recommend changes to the regional agreement under which all district towns operate. Many felt the agreement is outdated and limits change that could make the district more financially sustainable.
However, after extensive debate and discussion, officials are instead forming the HEART Committee, or the committee for “Honest Education and Retaining Trust.” The new committee’s primary goal is to create a sustainable school system.
The change came about after the majority of the more than 30 attendees agreed they didn’t feel prepared to recommend changes to the regional agreement without first considering districtwide goals that an updated agreement could accomplish.
“We’ve got to know where we stand, where we might head, before we can make any changes,” said Jane Dutcher, chairwoman of the Bernardston Finance Committee.
In particular, the group hoped to follow Mohawk Trail Regional School District’s example. Mohawk formed the BEST (Building Education, Sustainability and Trust) Committee in January 2016 to explore ways to cut rising school costs without cutting education.
Similarly to the BEST Committee, the HEART Committee would consider topics such as the physical state of the schools, transportation, class size, special education, administrative costs and school choice to recommend improvements that would make the district more financially sustainable.
The officials agreed to appoint three members from each town, instead of two, along with two school committee members and Superintendent Ruth Miller, considering a larger group would allow for the formation of subcommittees. They also intend to look into adding a facilitator.
The officials plan to reconvene on March 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Bernardston Senior Center. By then, they expect to have all 15 committee members appointed. They also hope a representative from the BEST Committee might come to speak about the committee’s work thus far.