WARWICK — What Town Coordinator David Young described as a “divorce” from the Pioneer Valley Regional School District proceeded Monday night with the approval of two related “housekeeping” items.
The related warrant articles passed alongside five others on the eight-item warrant, while the eighth and final article was passed over. Five of the seven approved articles were passed unanimously by the 44 voters in attendance, while articles 1 and 7 each received a marginal number of “nay” votes. The meeting, held inside the Warwick Community School gymnasium, lasted about an hour.
About half of the meeting was occupied by explanation and discussion of Article 1. Approval of this article authorized the Selectboard “to enter a long-term and renewable contract … that recognizes and defines the annual settlement of Warwick’s portion of the regional school district’s pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) attributable to Warwick’s former membership.”
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 state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley approved in May 2020. Since then, members of the Warwick Education Committee have met to develop plans with the goal of reopening the school. Recently, Pioneer officials approved the three agreements necessary for the Warwick Community School to transition out of the Pioneer Valley Regional School District.
Although the town had previously voted to exit the district, the related special Town Meeting articles were part of the “divorce settlement” as a “persistent financial obligation that (Warwick) contributed to,” Young explained.
“It took us a while to convince (the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) that this is not a debt, but it is arguable whether this is actual legal responsibility,” Young added. “Our auditor says it is. It feels like one. It certainly feels like a moral obligation to us … that we don’t leave Pioneer holding the bag.”
Article 1, followed by the subsequent Article 2 that detached Warwick’s scholarship committee from Pioneer Valley Regional School District membership, was “one of the many pieces that needs to be approved” for an exit from the district, according to Selectboard member Brian Snell.
“This vote is a necessary decision for us getting out,” Young commented. “If we vote ‘no’ today, we’re not getting out. There are no second chances.”
Some Town Meeting members expressed concern at the meeting regarding the continuity of students’ schooling experience, should Warwick establish its own district and reopen the Warwick Community School as proposed. Selectboard member Alan Genovese assured the residents that students would be able to remain at Northfield Elementary School as long as the Pioneer Valley Regional School District has open seats.
“To be clear, if the school opens … they could request to stay at Northfield,” Genovese said. “If they request to stay at Northfield, they would need to have seats that they declare to be open and then they can have Warwick students fill those seats.”
Article 1 passed by majority, despite one “nay” vote and a sizable portion of the crowd remaining silent.
Passage of Article 7, which received 34 ‘aye’ and six ‘nay’ votes, authorized Warwick to borrow up to $70,000 to acquire a new 2023 Ford Interceptor Utility police cruiser. While no funding amount was cited on the warrant, the vehicle’s unit price is listed as $44,452 by emergency equipment vendor MHQ. The necessary equipment to convert the vehicle into a police cruiser would likely cost an additional $20,000, Young added.
The Warwick Police Department acquired a 2013 Ford Interceptor cruiser from Gill this fall to replace what Chief David Shoemaker described as a more “tired” 2013 cruiser. Warwick is not expected to have the 2023 vehicle in hand for at least two years due to supply chain related wait times, according to Young.
Although Town Meeting members voted to borrow money, the appproval of Article 7 is “really a way to have a legal basis to sign the purchase agreement,” Young noted. It allows Warwick to order the vehicle without having to worry about not having a funding source. At a later date, Town Meeting voters may elect to appropriate a sum from stabilization funds, free cash or American Rescue Plan Act funding to pay for the vehicle instead, he said.
“Frankly, I would be surprised if we end up borrowing money in the end,” he added.
Articles 3 through 5, which all passed unanimously, entailed ethics exemptions for those with Selectboard affiliation. Articles 4 and 5 particularly pertained to conflicts of interest between Selectboard affiliation and compensated work within Warwick’s planned independent school district.
Article 6, which also passed unanimously, involved approving payment of prior-year bills mistakenly left unpaid. Lastly, Article 8, which was passed over, entailed transferring an undetermined sum of money from Warwick’s $211,515 free cash fund to the town’s stabilization fund.
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.