BERNARDSTON — Towns of the Pioneer Valley Regional School District have a week left to weigh the school’s budget request, before it comes to a vote in the June 17 town meetings. To decide whether to recommend for or against the $14,224,966 budget, the four selectboards and finance committees are meeting on Monday, 7 p.m. at the Bernardston Senior Center.
Of the four towns, at least two are seriously considering recommending against the budget. Warwick Town Coordinator David Young, who is also on the Pioneer School Committee, is asking towns to reject the budget to communicate their dissatisfaction over a five-year contract the district signed with Superintendent Jon Scagel.
In Warwick, the Selectboard is fully on board with Young’s plan. Of the three other towns, at least Bernardston’s Selectboard and Finance Committee have expressed interest. Bernardston’s Finance Committee wants to wait until after this Monday’s meeting before committing to supporting Young’s plan or not, said Bernardston Finance Chairwoman Jane Dutcher.
Pioneer’s budget must be approved through Town Meeting. If at least two of the four towns reject the school’s budget request, the budget fails. If only one town rejects it, the budget passes and the one dissenting town must pay its portion anyway.
Also on Monday’s agenda is a discussion on forming a new committee to study expanding Pioneer or merging it with another local school district.
Gill-Montague Regional School District has been discussed as a potential partner for a merger, but the new study committee would not necessarily be focused on Gill-Montague, Dutcher said.
The committee’s interest would likely be the larger question of how a school district in Franklin County can afford to function, Dutcher said.
“The districts in western Massachusetts can’t afford to continue the way we are,” Dutcher said. “We don’t have the population to support all of these school districts. We have to think differently.”
Although Pioneer and Gill-Montague are not necessarily planning to merge, members of the study committee would come from the six towns that make up those two districts. Forming the committee requires approval from the six relevant selectboards and the two school committees. So far, all have approved it except the Pioneer School Committee.
Rather than wait for the Pioneer School Committee, the towns can bypass it through Town Meeting votes. All four of the Pioneer towns have the question about forming the committee on the warrants of their June 17 Town Meetings.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261 ex 261.