Educational Collaboration, Central Office Consolidation, and District Regionalization

1. Educational Collaboration, Central Office Consolidation, and District Regionalization Presentation to the Orange Community Meeting Combining school systems for the benefit of all

2. Our approach to regionalization • Balancing the need for local control with educational effectiveness and efficiency • Taking the time to work out agreements that are in the best interests of all (towns, schools, children, taxpayers) • Making sure that one thing is working before moving on to the next • Recognizing that consolidation and regionalization are done to improve education • Working to make sure that your students are getting the best possible education for the educational resources that are available. • Recognition of the importance of local control, local decision-making, local interests Presentation to the Orange Community Meeting

3. Educational Collaboration • National Institute for School Leadership • Response to Intervention • Tools of the Mind • Learning Walks Presentation to the Orange Community Meeting

4. Central Office Consolidation • This year: • Shared Special Education Administrative team • Next year (beginning July 1st): • Shared Superintendent of Schools • Shared Assistant Superintendent for Teaching Learning and Accountability (0.3 FTE) • Shared Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Presentation to the Orange Community Meeting

5. Central office consolidation and Educational collaboration: Benefits to the schools Elementary • Economies of shared central office • Maintaining a strong elementary focus • Shared professional development (all 4 schools) • Strengthened horizontal alignment and sharing Secondary • Assistant Superintendent of Teaching, Learning and Accountability (0.3 FTE) • Strengthened vertical alignment of curriculum, professional development and assessment, preK-12 • Ability to look at a child’s educational career from kindergarten to graduation from high school Presentation to the Orange Community Meeting

6. School District Regionalization • Shared health insurance negotiations • Regional Planning Committee has been meeting very regularly • Regional Agreement is being amended to create a ‘hybrid’ Mahar K-12 Regional School District • Petersham and Orange will be full K-12 members • Wendell and New Salem will continue to be 7-12 members Presentation to the Orange Community Meeting

7. How does consolidation differ from regionalization? • With a Consolidated Central Office: • Each school committee will have full authority over its own schools • The central office team will report separately to each school committee • Costs for shared positions will be allocated through contracts and shared cost agreements • When full regionalization occurs: • There will be one common Mahar K-12 school committee • Costs will be shared according to the amended Regional Agreement • The district will receive Regional Transportation Reimbursement. Presentation to the Orange Community Meeting

8. Interests to be balanced in the new regional agreement • Constructing a new School Committee that represents all towns and all schools • Maintaining a reasonable degree of local control regarding both budget and education • Balancing the needs and resources of one large town and three smaller towns • Allowing for a significant difference between towns in historical and current levels of per pupil expenditures • Allowing for School Choice funding streams to continue to flow to specific schools • Maintaining a strong emphasis on elementary education Presentation to the Orange Community Meeting

9. Key provisions in the current draft of the amended Regional Agreement: Governance • The Mahar K-12 Regional District School Committee will consist of 12 members, elected biennially. • Orange five members • Petersham three members • Wendell two members • New Salem two members • Members will be elected at large, with a residency requirement. • Only Orange and Petersham members will vote on matters affecting elementary schools. • There will be eight members only voting on elementary matters Presentation to the Orange Community Meeting

10. Key provisions in the current draft of the amended Regional Agreement: Finances • Budgets must be approved by the School Committee by a 2/3 margin (eight votes). • Intra-district choice may be made available. • Towns will have the option to direct additional funding to their town elementary school(s). • School Choice dollars will continue to flow to individual schools. Schools • Only a town can decide whether or not to close a school. • Only a town can decide whether or not to move a grade level from an elementary school to the Mahar building. Presentation to the Orange Community Meeting

11. Process for amending the Regional Agreement • The Regional Planning Committee must first agree on an amended Regional Agreement. • All four Mahar member towns must then approve the agreement at annual or special town meetings. • The Commissioner of Education must then approve the agreement (by December 1st) in order for the agreement to take effect the following July 1st. • We’re working directly with DESE as we draft the amended agreement, to ensure that the final draft will be approved. Presentation to the Orange Community Meeting

12. For further information… Questions about Central Office Consolidation: • http://www.rcmahar.org/central-office-consolidation-website/ Questions to Superintendent Burnim: • paulburnim@orange-elem.org Questions to Superintendent Baldassarre: • mbaldassarre@rcmahar.org Questions to Superintendent Martin: • drmartin@petershamcenterschool.org Questions to the Mahar Regional Planning Committee: • m.leblanc75@yahoo.com Questions to Ken Rocke: • krocke48@gmail.com Presentation to the Orange Community Meeting