The Six Town Regionalization Planning Board is feeling confident that its proposal for townwide special elections to weigh in on the proposed Great River Regional School District will be approved as the bill continues to work its way through the Legislature.
A meeting of the board on Tuesday provided an update on the status of S.3181, “An Act Providing Equal Opportunity for Residents to Vote on Establishment of the Great River Regional School District.” The special legislation comes from a request to allow the towns of Bernardston, Gill, Leyden, Northfield and Warwick to join Montague in holding a townwide election to vote on establishing the proposed regional school district.
The goal is to have the townwide elections this fall, if the special legislation is passed. The district would be established via a ballot question on whether to approve a regional agreement with all six towns, or with five towns, if Warwick residents vote against the proposal, as the town has indicated it is not in favor of a merged district.
Six Town Regionalization Planning Board Chair Alan Genovese explained that state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, provided an update earlier this week that the bill has been approved by the Senate and is now in the House.
“We’re on our way to potentially having a ballot question, so all the voters in the towns will be able to weigh in on this really important decision,” Genovese told the board.
While Comerford has been helping on the Senate side, state Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol, has also been part of the effort to get the bill through the Legislature. Whipps explained Thursday that although the legislative session ends on July 31, informal sessions of the House can still approve this legislation even after the session ends. However, the hope is to have House approval before the end of the session.
The Senate’s third reading of the bill took place on July 16, and it was then referred to the House for its review and approval. On April 8, members of the Six Town Regionalization Planning Board testified before the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government, which reported the bill favorably on April 15.
The reason for a ballot question stems from the desire for the vote to be opened beyond Town Meeting. Montague is required under Massachusetts General Law to vote on the new district at a townwide election, rather than Town Meeting. This is because Montague has a representative Town Meeting, as opposed to an open one where all residents can attend, which is the case in the other five communities.
While the ballot is still anticipated as the mode of holding the vote, if the Legislature is unable to pass the bill, Special Town Meetings would be required for the five towns to vote on the regional agreements, Genovese explained.
Genovese said the hope is to work with town clerks in pre-planning for special elections in each of the five towns. He said on Thursday that working with the clerks will help the towns have better input on when a vote is called, once word on the special legislation is in.
Six Town Regionalization Planning Board Vice Chair Greg Snedeker explained that if the special legislation is approved, the regional agreements will be sent to the towns, initiating the timeframe by which a vote will be required.
Progress continues
The board has also seen progress in other key components of the regionalization proposal.
Both regional agreements for either a five-town or six-town district, along with the Long Range Plan, have been completed as of April, with official approval from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
The Long Range Plan provides information on the proposed regionalization, including financial projections for the new district’s first operational year, details on the transition period to the new district, enrollment projections, student transportation, public outreach and other topics.
The board has stressed how declining enrollment at the Pioneer Valley and Gill-Montague regional school districts since 1996 is a critical factor in proposing regionalization, as this impacts educational and extracurricular opportunities for students, along with financial stability at the existing districts.
Under the regionalization proposal, 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. The student population of the new preschool through grade 12 district would be approximately 1,446, according to the Long Range Plan.
Since last fall, the board has conducted public outreach regarding this proposal. Opinions from leadership at Pioneer have been negative, with the district’s School Committee voting not to recommend regionalization. The Warwick School Committee also voted not to recommend regionalization. However, the Gill-Montague School Committee opted to take a neutral stance and did not vote on whether to recommend it.
At the state level, the board has presented this regionalization proposal to DESE Commissioner Pedro Martinez, who said that if voters approve of regionalization, the state will want to “form a partnership” with the Six Town Regionalization Planning Board to help move forward, according to Genovese.
Additionally, Snedeker mentioned some “big news” in state budgeting, with a June 12 supplemental budget that includes $16.5 million for regionalization and shared services.
“It’s sort of a nod from the state that regionalization is going to be a part of the future of the state plans,” Snedeker said.
Heading into the next few months, the board is looking to start back up with public engagement around the vote, and is discussing plans to convey information to residents through the newspaper, social media and its website. The board also plans to hold public meetings with selectboards from across the six towns to discuss the regionalization proposal and take questions from officials.
The regional agreements, Long Range Plan and meeting information are available on the Six Town Regionalization Planning Board website at 6towns.org.
