Volunteers are needed for a new six-town committee on merging the Gill-Montague and Pioneer Valley regional school districts.
The committee’s first order of business will be to decide whether the six towns actually want to merge their school districts. If they do, the committee will then research options for the merger, and ultimately will design and plan the new school district.
Of the six towns, Montague, Gill, Bernardston and Leyden have officially put out calls for volunteers. Northfield and Warwick have not. The subject is on the agenda for a joint meeting of the four Pioneer towns’ selectboards and finance committees (Leyden, Bernardston, Northfield, Warwick) on Sept. 9, at 7 p.m at the Bernardston Senior Center.
Talk of some sort of merger of these two school districts has been going on for about a year among the selectboards, finance committees, school committees and other groups. Both districts are having issues related to declining enrollment and rising costs. A merger has generally been seen as one possible way of addressing those problems.
But the exact nature of the merger, and whether or not it will even happen, are not yet decided. In all six towns, town officials have supported further exploration of a merger. Most have also been careful to note that it is only an exploration at this point, and not a commitment to merge.
“I don’t think there is, at this point, any indication that there’s a ‘further regionalization or bust’ mentality behind this,” said Montague Town Administrator Steve Ellis.
Several high-profile cuts have been made in both districts. Leyden’s elementary students are going to Bernardston Elementary School this year, after the town’s own Pearl Rhodes Elementary School was closed in June. Pioneer and Turners Falls High School shared a football program for the first time last year due to low enrollment. This year, the whole program was cut for the same reason.
“I think something needs to happen,” said Montague Selectboard Chair Rich Kuklewicz. “I don’t know the answer, but this certainly is a step toward trying to help us all with what’s becoming a large problem throughout the county and the region.”
The new committee will have 18 members, three from each of the six towns. Each town’s three members will include one who is on its school committee. (On the Gill-Montague School Committee, Montague has six members, Gill has three. On the Pioneer School Committee, each of the four towns has three members.)
Erving is not part of either school district, but would be affected by changes to them. Erving has its own elementary school, which is not part of a larger regional school district. For middle and high school, Erving sends most of its students to Turners Falls High School through a tuition agreement, or to Pioneer through school choice, said Erving Administrative Coordinator Bryan Smith.
Erving has a representative to the Gill-Montague School Committee, who Smith suggested might attend the new committee’s meetings, but likely would not have voting status.
“There is interest for Erving to at least be at the table,” Smith said.
If the new committee decides to pursue a merger, the whole process is estimated to take three years, including the creation of a new regional agreement document and the necessary town meeting approvals, said Gill Town Administrator Ray Purington.
■Montague residents should write letters of interest to Town Moderator Chris Collins, via the office of Town Administrator Steve Ellis. The letters can be physically brought to the town administrator’s office at Town Hall, or emailed to townadmin@montague-ma.gov. Include a resume and mention qualifications and relevant experience. The deadline is Sept. 19, at 5 p.m.
■Gill residents should address letters of interest to Town Moderator Isaac Bingham, via email to Town Administrator Ray Purington, at administrator@gillmass.org. Include a resume or other summary of relevant experiences. The deadline is Sept. 19, at 5 p.m.
■Bernardston residents should write a letter of interest to Town Moderator Geoff Wilson, at P.O. Box 504, Bernardston, MA, 01337. Town Coordinator Lou Bordeaux said that while there isn’t a set deadline to apply, the town is trying to fill the position within the next couple of months.
■Leyden residents should send a letter of interest to Town Moderator Katherine DiMatteo via Municipal Assistant Michele Giarusso. Letters can be physically brought to the municipal assistant’s office at Town Hall, or emailed to selectboard@townofleyden.com. Include a resume or other statement of qualifications, and mention relevant experiences and interests.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 261.