CHARLEMONT — A new advisory committee will be tasked with independently reviewing the work of the Two Districts, Eight Towns (2D8T) Steering Committee and consultant Berkshire Educational Resources K-12 (BERK12) in preparation for a future Town Meeting vote on a proposed single-campus school district.
On Monday, the Selectboard voted 2-0, with Co-Chair Jared Bellows absent, to create an advisory committee that will review the work to ensure it is accurate and that the single-campus proposal is in the best interest of Charlemont.
“We’re going to have to put this on a warrant, and right now, the way it’s being described and the information that we have, it feels like a gamble,” Selectboard member Wilder Sparks said. “It would be really nice if we could talk about what that would look like.”
BERK12 was tasked with working on a sustainability study exploring how the Hawlemont and Mohawk Trail regional school districts could provide the best quality education for students while battling rising costs and stagnant state aid. In April, the 2D8T Steering Committee recommended that the two districts pursue an aspirational goal of bringing all preK-12 students to a single campus for learning at the current Mohawk Trail Regional School site in Buckland.
According to a report from BERK12, creating a single-campus district could provide between $3.4 million and $5.3 million in savings. Of community members surveyed by BERK12, 55% said the single-campus model showed the most promise for ensuring fiscal sustainability, and 50% said it showed the most promise for maintaining and improving educational quality.
Sparks said that based on conversations he has had with members of the 2D8T Steering Committee, he does not feel confident in the modeling and projections, and he felt encouraged to do his own independent review of the work.
“We need to evaluate and look at for ourselves the impact of what their suggestions are going to be,” Sparks said.
Sparks said he would like to see an advisory committee of five to seven people with a variety of backgrounds and perspectives look at the data used by BERK12, as well as discuss and explore potential impacts on property values, costs associated with maintaining and reusing the Hawlemont Regional School building, and the social impact on the Charlemont community.
Town Moderator Robert Handsaker told the Selectboard he is in favor of such a committee being created, so residents have an opportunity to review and question information ahead of a Town Meeting vote.
“From my perspective, what I’d really like to see is to have the town come to a consensus on a plan for the schools going forward and that the town can broadly stand behind,” Handsaker said. “I don’t want to see a 51-49 vote on Town Meeting floor where there’s a big contentious argument and that’s where everything is getting hashed out. So I think this is a good thing.”
After voting to form the ad hoc committee, the Selectboard tasked Sparks with seeking out members. The advisory committee members will be appointed at a future Selectboard meeting.