The Six-Town Regionalization Planning Board may be able to proceed with asking for voter approval for the proposed Great River Regional School District at the polls, rather than through Town Meeting votes, after state guidance indicated a special legislative act could allow the towns to be exempt from the state law governing regionalization.
During a brief meeting on Thursday, board members shared updates on the proposed multi-district merger. These updates included efforts to get approval from the Legislature to put the vote forth at a special election in all of the towns, rather than just Montague.
Montague is required under Massachusetts General Law to vote on the new district at a townwide election, rather than at Town Meeting, because Montague operates with a representative Town Meeting as opposed to an open one where all residents can attend, which is the case in the other five towns that would make up the proposed district.
Seeking equal opportunity for all voters to share their opinions on the new regional agreement, the Six-Town Regionalization Planning Board wondered whether a special legislative act could be passed to allow the towns to hold a special election rather than Town Meetings. Board Chair Alan Genovese told members that a legal review from Senate and House attorneys indicated this was a possibility.
“It did not need to be a home rule petition or change to the legislation; it can be a special act,” Genovese said.
Genovese added, with the state attorneys’ opinion, that the towns can continue working with state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, to put forth a special act in the Legislature. The board is hoping to get the act passed before a tentative spring vote on the new regional agreement for a merged district.
Under the regionalization plan, high school students from the six towns would be educated at the existing Turners Falls High School and Great Falls Middle School. Middle schoolers would occupy Pioneer Valley Regional School and elementary students would remain in their current buildings. The board has said there is no plan for teacher reductions, but central administration positions would be consolidated.
If towns approve the regional agreement, the transition would begin in 2027, and the Great River Regional School District would officially launch for the 2028-2029 school year.
Alternate regional agreement
Genovese also told board members that he has made progress on drafting a second regional agreement that would allow the towns of Gill, Montague, Leyden, Northfield and Erving to proceed with creating a merged school district without the town of Warwick.
Per meeting minutes, the Six-Town Regionalization Planning Board is hoping that having a backup regional agreement between the five towns would allow a new district to be created even if Warwick residents vote against the proposal, as the town has indicated it is not in favor of a merged district. The five-town version of a regional agreement would be put forth to voters as a separate question if Warwick votes “no.” If Warwick votes “yes,” the six-town regional agreement would remain in place.
This second draft agreement should be ready for review and a potential vote from Six-Town Regionalization Planning Board members at the Jan. 29 meeting.
“Let’s get that out to everyone so we can put that to a vote,” Genovese said.
Members in attendance on Thursday also unanimously approved amendments to the regional agreement and long-range plan for the proposed Great River Regional School District. Changes included updates to the wording to clarify the process for planning the new district and what the transition period would entail.
“It’s sort of semantics,” Genovese said of the amendments.
Genovese said that if the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has any further comments or suggestions, the board would review those as they come up and make further amendments to the new regional agreement as necessary.