The School Committee Monday voted unanimously to accept the report developed by its “School Union” subcommittee, with only a few minor modifications. The report poses a range of questions on the effects of a union with Boxborough’s Blanchard Memorial Elementary School, focusing on issues of logistics, staffing, costs, and curriculum impact.
The report is expected to be available in the next few days on the school website and at Town Hall, the library, and school offices.
The committee expressed the hope that the public will attend an open hearing on the topic next Monday night, April 2, at Volunteers Hall in the library at 7:30 p.m., following the school budget hearing. Residents can also email questions to interim Superintendent Joe Connelly or members of the School Committee.
School Committee member Kirsten Wright, who was a member of the subcommittee, said, “The biggest challenge was ensuring that the questions could be answered factually and staying away from opinions.”
The two districts have identified six positions that they might cost-share in a union. The report lists the superintendent, the special education director, the data/transportation clerk, the head of food services, and two administrative assistants as the positions under consideration.
According to the report, the administration offices for the union would remain in Harvard. Administrators might also have a shared workspace in Boxborough.
The report states, “[I]t is difficult to estimate the exact cost savings to either town” if the union proposal goes forward. The subcommittees from the two towns have estimated that Boxborough would pay 30 to 40 percent of the costs of the shared positions, and Harvard 60 to 70 percent.
The report includes a chart showing a range of possible savings for Harvard from about $173,000 to $248,000. This amount represents about 1.5 to 2.2 percent of Harvard’s total school budget.
If the plan is accepted, each town’s School Committee would send three members to a joint School Union Committee. The joint committee would have authority to hire the district’s superintendent and write his/her contract.
Boxborough is also considering full regionalization with Acton, with which it already shares grades 7 through 12. Boxborough residents will vote on the issue at their Annual Town Meeting in May this year. Acton would also have to approve a full regionalization with Boxborough.
