Are you feeling bewildered, confused, and baffled by the issues surrounding the Gateway Regional School District? With talk of Worthington leaving, or not, based upon the potential of having the courts decide that the Governor and Legislature illegally passed legislation allowing a town to leave; with the question of whether the district will, or will not, be allocated any ‘mitigation’ money from the state; with questions surrounding the appropriateness of voting for decreased assessments based upon this mitigation funding; with towns putting forth requests to find alternatives to sending their students to Gateway, and with the calls from GTAC (the Gateway Towns Advisory Committee) for the district to reorganize to be ‘sustainable’ it is difficult to pin down answers regarding the future of the district.
Not surprisingly, these unknowns are causing much angst among staff members and the end result has people looking for jobs outside of the district—with some staff members leaving the district—due to the uncertainty surrounding these questions. I’m sure that the law of unintended consequences is playing out no matter which decision you point to over the last 15 years, starting as early as the decisions made during the building project and up to the passage of legislation allowing Worthington to withdraw from the district.
Of course this added level of stress, coming on top of ever-increasing mandates from the state and federal governments regarding student assessment, teacher evaluations, and changing daily operations, coupled with the ongoing argument about the Common Core and PARCC testing, is having an effect not only on staff but also on students who are always much more perceptive than many adults give them credit for.
So, what is the future of Gateway? While that answer is not yet known, I believe that the power to influence the final direction lies primarily with staff, parents, and students if they choose to become involved and provide strong input to the legally elected school committee, which will eventually make all decisions related to the district.
Who will provide the input, suggestions, and support regarding Gateway’s future: those with direct ties to the schools or those whose primary interest is financial? As the school committee moves forward with the budget, with planning for the future, and with meeting all of the demands of its stakeholders, the major question is this: which constituents will take the time to show up, express their opinions, and support their vision of the future?
