NORTHFIELD — The prospect of merging the Pioneer Valley Regional School District with the neighboring Gill-Montague Regional School District was met enthusiastically by Pioneer town officials, who agreed at a meeting this week to consider the first preliminary steps of such a merger.
The first part of the process would be to form a planning committee with members from all six of the involved towns, maybe including Erving. The committee would consider finances, educational matters, an inter-town agreement and other matters relevant to the potential merger — information that would have to be gathered before a merger could be realistically considered.
At a joint meeting early in the week, the selectboards of the Pioneer towns agreed to consider the formation of a planning committee in greater depth at their individual meetings. Officials from Gill and Montague were not at the meeting, but will eventually have to be involved in the formation of a planning committee.
Both Pioneer and Gill-Montague have problems with declining enrollment, which means less revenue. Per-pupil costs in both districts are relatively high. Pioneer has been in the news a lot in the past year, as the district continues to struggle toward financial sustainability. Gill-Montague Superintendent Michael Sullivan, in a separate conversation, said that in recent years his district has avoided a financial deficit by making cuts each year.
Although the Pioneer officials were enthusiastic about a merger with Gill-Montague, there was also a general consensus at this week’s meeting that a formation of an even larger district would be better.
“My sense is, this is an intermediate step,” Warwick Selectboard Chairman Doc Pruyne said in a recent conversation, suggesting a single district for all of Franklin County north of Greenfield.
Northfield Selectwoman Julia Blythe also favored an even larger district, but added: “This feels a little more achievable in the near future.”