HUNTINGTON – At the Gateway Town Advisory Committee’s Friday evening meeting at Stanton Hall, hilltown residents from six of the seven Gateway Regional School District communities went over several scenarios based on outcome of a bill that would allow the Town of Worthington to withdraw from the district.
Seated before a crowd of about 25, GTAC members Darlene McVeigh, Derrick Mason, and Joe Kearns, members of the Towns of Huntington, Russell, and Middlefield’s Finance Committees, joined their fourth member, Montgomery Selectman Dan Jacques, in laying out the next steps for the district if Governor Deval L. Patrick either signs the bill into law, vetoes it, or does nothing.
“The bill now contains amendments that force a more thorough review of the process, and includes not only evaluations of Worthington’s plan and situation, but the whole Gateway situation,” said Jacques. “There’s something in the wording of the language, however, that says that doesn’t happen until after Worthington leaves, and that’s a potential concern. There are things in there that will help address things much better than the way the bill went in initially.”
Jacques prefaced his statement by saying that he isn’t getting too optimistic about how Patrick will decide, but that he hopes attendees of the meeting will call the Governor’s office, as well as their local legislators, and tell their friends and neighbors to do the same.
“In the original language, (The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education) didn’t need to approve the impact on Gateway’s plan,” McVeigh said, adding that the education plans of Worthington and Gateway need to be submitted within 60 days from the enactment, with DESE then getting 60 days to report their findings to the legislature.
“Even if the Governor does nothing or signs it, ultimately it does need to go back to DESE, and he (Chester Mitchell, DESE commissioner) ultimately has the authority to approve or disapprove these plans which may stop the bill from going forward,” she said.
McVeigh said that should the district’s communities decide to remain as is, a reorganization needs conference would need to occur with Mitchell and the DESE.
Under section IX of the district’s agreement, McVeigh said that Worthington would have to pay the district “operating and capital costs under section IX of the District Agreement”, and would be required to pay any repayment amounts due to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) under section IX of the District agreement “unless or until MSBA determines they don’t need to pay them back.”
“There are a lot of contentious items,” she said, citing the district’s Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) liability of $14 million as a chief concern should the bill be sign into law. “Worthington should share a piece of that (liability), as it was incurred while Worthington was still in the district.”
McVeigh, an accountant by trade, also brought up several financial questions and concerns of the district. “The estimated net financial impact (of Worthington’s withdrawal) is $360,000 per year, and the estimated increase in overall assessments to the remaining towns is six to seven percent,” she said.
“That sounds like chump change to Boston, but out here, six to seven percent is a big number. We also need to recognize that we have to follow Proposition 2 1/2 and Proposition 2 1/2 caps out at $25 a $1,000. We have a town now (Chester) that caps out at $20 a $1,000. We haven’t had any growth in the valuation of our properties or additional buildings.”
McVeigh stated that a loss of industry in the area has constricted the hilltowns to the point where a situation like this would be devastating.
“Over the last 15-20 years, we’ve suffered drastically on the economic side. We’ve lost Strathmore, Westfield River Paper, Texon… It’s cyclical, it’s happened to us before, but do you see any industry in Huntington?” she asked, adding that a withdrawal agreement with Worthington has yet to even be drafted. “We’re not really clear on who’s participating in that process. How will member towns be represented? Who’ll be required to approve it?”
She also listed a few “next steps” in the event that the bill is not enacted into law.
“We have to work with the school committee and town officials to really understand the lessons learned from what happened, and move forward in a cooperative and collaborative way,” McVeigh said. “Improving the school climate and working to improve educational opportunities… I can’t say enough about working in the spirit of collaboration. We are a regioanl district.”
“If we’re going to be successful, GTAC has often talked about trying to foster getting more selectboard meetings where all selectboards meet, maybe twice a year, finance committees from the seven towns sitting down and meeting,” she said. “So we can understand the issues and concerns, and can support each other in budget hearings. I encourage people when they go to their town meetings to inquire ‘what’s the impact on the other towns?’ We need to demonstrate that what we aren’t just thinking about our local towns.”
