Attorney Fred Dupere, right, told School Committee members Regina DiLego and Robert Barton that the state has been delayed in rendering its opinion.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The School Committee is still waiting for the state to weigh in on how it could dissolve Superintendency Union 71. 

 

School Committee member Robert Barton made an unsupported push for the school to join with another school district, ending the Supervisory Union 71 agreement with Williamstown.

 

Ultimately, the School Committee slowed down the issue and agreed to look at alternatives.

 

The committee, posed with different opinions, is now waiting for the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to render its opinion. That will help dictate how the committee moves forward with weighing the options.

 

The committee's attorney Fred Dupere says he has yet to receive the communication fro DESE.

 

"He will make sure this is done correctly and accurately," Dupere said of the state attorney, Jeff Wilson, looking into the matter.

 

Barton had believed that the union could be dissolved by just a vote from the School Committee, since the agreement is between each school's committee. The superintendency union between the two elementary schools also has an agreement with Mount Greylock Regional School District to share administrators and costs.

 

"My presumption is that when the two school committees agreed to form a new union, there was a detailing of what that agreement would be," Barton said.

 

But Barton can't even find a written agreement between them and the superintendent says one never existed.

 

"There really wasn't a whole lot of documentation," said Superintendent Rose Ellis. "I never had any document."

 

Ellis said when the district was formed, there was a feasibility study voted by the committees. The package outlining the formation of the union was then sent to the state for approval. Once approved, the union was formed despite having a no contract among the parties. It is unclear if that feasibility study outlined the dissolution process or not.

 

Barton added that if the formation was "irrevocable," he would expect a town meeting vote would be needed, which wasn't taken.

 

The process is causing difficulty moving forward. With only two of the three School Committee members present, they were deadlocked on setting a master calendar until knowing the process. Barton is hoping to meet with other school districts to discussion a possible change in affiliation before the district hires a permanent superintendent to replace Ellis, who is retiring. Chairwoman Regina DiLego opposes that and wanted to set a master calendar that did not include those meetings.

 

"The concern I have is the decision on our affiliation is entwined uncomfortably with the decision on a new superintendent," Barton said.

 

DiLego said superintendent search is a decision made by the union board. That board is looking to hire a permanent superintendent and not an interim to buy time for Barton's study.

 

In other business, the committee gave its support of Selectman Robert Ericson's push to reduce town energy usage. Ericson sits on a town energy committee and is looking to cut the town's energy usage by 20 percent.

 

"I don't expect to get 20 percent out of the school unless we do something big like replace the boilers. But, I hope the school can contribute to it," Ericson said.

 

The school is "well built, well insulated and new" so there isn't a whole lot of energy reductions left to be make there, Ericson said. However, it is the largest consumer of energy. Ericson suggest making changes such as turning the lights for the parking lot off after 10 p.m.

 

"There are some thing we could do better," he said.