WARWICK — As part of continued progress toward creating an independent elementary school in town, the Selectboard this week discussed the need to establish a Pro Tempore School Governance Committee.
This need was determined after further study related to a January decision to establish an independent school committee for the town’s future independent elementary school, seats on which would be filled during the regular election cycle. During a March 15 meeting, Warwick Education Committee Chair Adam Holloway and Town Coordinator David Young explained the Education Committee was advised to start a school committee for elections this year, but had since determined this is premature and can be done next year.
Speaking this week, Young said the town needed to be sure it had approval from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to establish an independent elementary school district before holding elections.
“Really what we’re trying to get here is recognition that we no longer want to proceed with that in the May elections and that we do want to establish an appointed forerunner to a school committee, which will function as a school committee but wouldn’t have the legal standing,” Young said.
Holloway said members who had volunteered for a governance committee to assist previous efforts to establish a Horace Mann II charter school may be interested in joining this new, temporary committee.
“I think a lot of those will transfer over,” he said. “I think we need to maybe take a pulse check, and find out exactly who would want to be recommended for this.”
Holloway said it was recommended that the committee have between three and nine members, “but the more the better at first.”
In addition to the Pro Tempore School Governance Committee, the Selectboard also discussed establishing an Advisory Committee on Elementary Education. The goal of creating these committees now, Selectboard members said, is so planning can continue “so things are ready to go” before the elementary school is established and the town holds an election for a school committee.
The Pioneer Valley Regional School District School Committee voted in January 2020 to close Warwick Community School as a cost-saving measure, a decision that DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley later approved. Since then, members of the Warwick Education Committee have been holding regular meetings to develop plans with the goal of reopening the Warwick Community School as an independent elementary school.
Ultimately, Selectboard members did not take action to create the Pro Tempore School Governance Committee this week, but said they will reconvene for a possible motion on the topic during their next meeting.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.