MASC

Report of the Regional Schools Committee--Corrected version. The 2011 Delegate Manual did not include the 2011 version of the Regional Schools Report prepared by Regional School Committee Chair Ellen Holmes, a member of the Ashburnham-Westminster School Committee. The Regional Schools Committee held eight meetings during a very active AY’11 (seven on-site, one phone conference).  The fall sessions dealt with the expected changes in the membership of the MA Legislature and the potential impact on the regionalization discussions taking place.  Members worked on the framework of a “regional school primer” that could be shared with legislators and their staffs to better understand the many nuances of a region verses a municipal district.  There was also the desire to make these more impactful by adapting them to reflect local issues of the regional district.   

While following the many legislative proposals/actions of the MA legislature, the Committee actively contributed to these discussions with the continued interaction with the Regional Schools Caucus led by Representative Cleon Turner.  Members met and corresponded regularly with representatives and senators to highlight areas of concern.  The Committee welcomes the regionalization discussions in the Legislature during this past year.  We applaud the vision to see that regionalization of school governance succeeds when it is based on collaboration and purposeful incentives, rather than forced mandates.  The development of Ayer-Shirley and Berkley-Somerset as well as the expansion of Chatham-Harwich and Freetown-Lakeville demonstrates the opportunities meaningful change can create.

Our discussions benefited from several presentations made to the Committee.  WPI students participating in an Interactive Qualifying Project presented a cost-benefit analysis of school regionalization in Massachusetts.  Representative Turner provided a forecast of FY’12 budget and areas of concern.  In May 2011, Jim Slavas and Michael Idoine of the Wendell Finance Committee shared their work on a Modified Aggregate Wealth Formula, which generated a very active discussion that we will follow up with in the fall.

The Regional Schools Committee benefited from the many interactions with DESE staff this year.   In November 2010, Jay Sullivan and Christine Lynch participated in a conference call addressing the following:  end of year report collections, the MOEC Special Education Transportation report, regional planning & transitional grant funding in FY’11 & ’12, FY’12 Circuit Breaker expectations, and Regional School Transportation Reimbursement FY’11 & ’12.  Jay Sullivan also presented at another meeting updates on RST and Extraordinary Relief claims.  Our year concluded with Associate Commissioner Karla Baehr presenting information on the then-proposed regulations regarding Educators’ Evaluations.  The discussion with the Committee was extremely informative, and members were able to share concerns with Commissioner Baehr and know their input would be considered.

The Regional Schools Committee wishes to express our appreciation to those members of the Legislature who worked so passionately in support of the Commonwealth’s regional schools.  The collaborative relationship we have with many members of the Legislature offers great opportunities to benefit our school communities.  Initiatives designed merely to create regions fail to deliver promises of greater cost savings and academic success.  Supporting and sustaining regions remains the best way to deliver high quality education at appropriate cost.

As always, I appreciate the efforts of my colleagues on this very active committee.  Personal engagement is essential to our advocacy, and you should know how committed they are to these efforts.  Please feel free to speak with any of us if there are issues of concern or you wish to help!

Respectfully submitted,
Ellen Holmes, Chair
Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School Committee