The Great River Regional School District (GRRSD), which is on the Oct. 6 ballot, focuses on restoring courses/electives and adding new ones that were a top priority among students in a joint meeting with Pioneer Valley (PV) and Gill Montague (GM) high school and middle school students.
Both school districts’ (of which Warwick was a member) enrollment peaked in 1996: PV at 1,646; GM at 1,246. Both districts have declined significantly since then. It is noteworthy that the new GRRSD would have an enrollment between these two peaks of 1,426 students. The formula was simple: More students equals more learning and extracurricular opportunities. I would like today’s students to have a comprehensive secondary education, like my daughter enjoyed in the ’90s.
The term “super-regional school district” does not refer to the size of the district, but rather distinguishes it from the traditional formation of a school district. In this case, it’s bringing two existing school districts and one municipal district together to form one district. With declining enrollment occurring across the state, this will likely become common.
Protecting our elementary students: Our studies show that larger secondary enrollments will protect our elementary schools from potential harmful reductions. All elementary schools will remain open, and the proposed regional agreement has clear language and a high bar to prevent premature closures. These schools are the foundation of our children’s education.
After hearing about the potential cuts to elementary schools, this only supports our findings. PVRSD’s (and Mohawk’s) plan to move elementary students to its regional campus doesn’t address the declining enrollment at the secondary level.
In a recent meeting with the commissioner of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), he noted the importance of elementary students being educated in their own community, and that the programs offered should reflect the communities’ values. With community support and engagement, the present grade configurations should remain unchanged.
Innovative and potential outcomes can be realized by combining the two talented staff! The GRRSD plan continues to offer the existing courses, but with more certified teachers in each subject area department, there is the opportunity to develop additional courses and electives that focus on students’ interests. The combined faculties’ experience and expertise will enhance students’ education by providing more approaches to learning and sharing best practices.
The GRRSD honors all the current existing tuition agreements through its District Regional Agreement with non-district towns. When the Planning Board worked with DESE officials on the Long Range Plan, a smooth transition for students into the GRRSD was central to this work. The Long Range Plan shows many commonalities between the combined district and the current district, as one would expect. The mission and vision of any district should be reviewed frequently to ensure it is demonstrated through the actions of staff, school committee and stakeholders. This is exciting work and should be seen as an opportunity to build on the foundations already established in creating something special in the GRRSD.
Regarding secondary-level transportation, there are fewer students in each district now. Routes are developed by the bus company after receiving updated student home addresses for the coming year. Once developed, the district admin reviews them and looks for anomalies and suggests changes. School committees are mindful of ridership and pick-up/drop-off times that the administration oversees. No district can know exactly what transportation will be in two years.
With the decline in enrollment and changing demographics, the reality is that our towns have more senior citizens (many on fixed incomes) and far fewer children. It is time to consider doing something different because doing the same and expecting a different result is not in the future best interest of our students and towns.
If the towns regionalize, will taxes go down? Each town’s assessment depends on a number of factors: Community wealth and income contribute to the Required Local Contribution for each town, the amount above this minimum being requested by the district, state aid, the number of students in the town, and so on. The GRRSD uses a five-year rolling average of foundation enrollment to smooth out the spikes in year-to-year assessments. With the costs spread over six towns (instead of one, two, or three), this will help to mitigate the cost increases over time. If one town’s student population is declining faster than another’s, then that town will pay less of a percent of the total assessment.
Specifically, what you are voting on is creating a district that will provide more opportunities for students, protect elementary schools from harmful cuts, and create more value for your tax dollar by spreading costs over more students and towns. This will provide more sustainability and affordability for the district and the towns in the long run and produce more opportunities/benefits for our students.
STRPB recognizes that superintendents, school committees, teachers, and staff have been working hard to offer the best education possible with declining resources (students), but this is not sustainable with the financial challenges ahead and the changing demands of our town demographics. Efforts to receive more money from the state will not produce more students, but it will have far greater value in a district with a student population similar to previous years. Relying too heavily on school choice revenue ($5,000 per student) or grants is not a long-term strategy in addressing declining enrollment. By backfilling member-town enrollment with choice-in students, the district is causing the member-towns to pay a subsidy for the choice-in enrollment; it is not a marginal net gain. These are not reliable year-over-year funding sources. Parents can decide not to “choice-in” at any time. When districts accept school choice students, the towns, through the school budget, are responsible for educating these students until they graduate.
If the vote to regionalize passes, it clears the way for the GRRSD to be formed. Warwick becomes a non-operating district as a member of the GRRSD, and the PVRSD and GMRSD dissolve on paper, and a new larger district is created. The GRRSD will become operational on July 1, 2028.
Every vote counts! Make yours count, too!
Alan Genovese is chair of the Six Town Regionalization Planning Board and Warwick Selectboard; a former PVRSD School Committee member, former chair and present member of the Warwick Municipal School Committee; and a former teacher, principal, business administrator and retired regional school district superintendent.