Swampscott schools to consider ‘union’ with Nahant, might save money
By Neil Zolot / Correspondent Wed Oct 24, 2007, 08:37 AM EDT Swampscott - Swampscott - The Swampscott and Nahant School Committees will form some type of joint body to examine the idea of regionalization. Whether in the form of separate but cooperating subcommittees or task forces or a joint Task Force, the joint body will consist of two School Committees members, two parents and the superintendent of schools from each community. "The most important thing to look at are the financial implications," Massachusetts Association of School Committees consultant Michael Gilbert told a joint meeting of the two School Committees at Swampscott High School Tuesday, October 23. "There is an acknowledgement by the state Department of Education this is a direction we ought to look at." There are two models of joint operations to consider, Gilbert explained. The more involved of the two is "regionalization," which entails creation of a new legal entity to runs the schools. It would receive education aid independently from each town government. Less drastic is a "superintendency union," in which each town would have its own School Committee and separate budgets but would cooperate through a joint committee to hire a superintendent and set an administrative budget. Regionalization would require voter approval. It might not be a palatable idea to those with sentimental attachments to their school systems, Gilbert warned. A superintendency union would not require voter action but Gilbert suggested approval by both Town Meetings would help assure its success. Both plans would obviously eliminate some duplication of effort. Although Swampscott Superintendent Dr. Mathew Malone said the savings "might not be much," he figures it would save some money on items ranging from legal fees to snow plowing. From an educational standpoint, both plans allow for curriculum alignment, something that is not occurring under the present system, although Malone and Nahant Interim Superintendent Joe Lisi both said the two systems should cooperate regardless of whether a change is made. To help communities decide whether to regionalize, the state DOE is willing to "run the numbers," as Gilbert put it, to see if it's beneficial. "It may be a disincentive," he admitted. "I don't know if it would be in either community's best interest." Full regionalization carries the risk of long-term conditions changing. "In a union you have control," he told the committees. "In regionalization, you're not in control when one community's demographics change. It can be problematic if regionalization becomes a disincentive for one." A superintendency union presents its own complications. Teachers working in both systems would have to be paid separately and if one town decided to implement a program, it might not be available to students in the other — depending on how the union is structured. Swampscott School Committee member Shelley Sackett thinks full regionalization would "be a bit of overkill for our situation." She likes the idea of saving money on administrative costs, however. Nahant Committee member Dave Wilson said he thinks a union would be a way of helping his town improve its special education programs. "Our SPED department isn't up to scale," he said. "If Swampscott is thinking of helping us out, great." Nahant School Committee member Jim Deveraux called full regionalization "scary." He thinks the benefits of a superintendency union will be easier to calculate. Gilbert agreed full regionalization is scary because "there are a lot of things we don't know," but warned against setting the idea aside until the DOE runs the numbers. Most of the pressure to act seems to be on Nahant. "At some point it becomes economical for the smaller district to look at this," Gilbert said. "It's an opportunity for Nahant, given it has an interim superintendent. This may happen or not. If not, they have to make a decision as to what their administrative structure will look like. You have to have a superintendent." Nahant School Committee member Christine Kendall said there isn't much appetite for full regionalization in her town, but people are interested in a superintendency union. Nahant member Peter Przybycien added it will "depend on the numbers" and whether the idea makes sense economically.
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