Adams Cheshire to Undergo Third Party School Study
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Through a state grant, Adams and Cheshire will undergo a third-party cost analysis study and review of the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District that will provide information on how to best restructure the district.
Town Administrator Mark Webber told the Selectmen on Tuesday that he had recently met with Adams Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco to discuss using state funds that town had received through the Community Compact program to obtain more information on how the district should move forward.
"It will give us the numbers and the impacts and outcomes of different scenarios such as closing one of the schools or the other or even closing both," Webber said. "The feeling is that questions are going to be raised, some have been raised already, and the towns need more precise and accurate information to make a decision."
The towns approved a fiscal 2017 school budget that contains drastic cuts from this year's spending plan. The budget was designed to act as stop-gap budget to give the communities and School Committee a year to figure out what changes would make district more financially sustainable.
Webber said the two towns will meet with the School Committee after the study is complete and come to a more informed agreement that will help guide it.
Chairwoman Carol Francesconi said it will be a good opportunity for all involved parties to work together with accurate information.
"I think it is a very complicated issue for all of the towns and the School Committee," she said. "I think we all have to wok together make an intelligent decision."
Both select boards have voiced that they do not want to close their town elementary schools.
Chairman of the Planning Board Dan Speth said his board recently met with representatives from Dollar General.
"We have talked to them last meeting and they gave us a presentation, but ... no specifics about anything," he said. "So we talked to them about things we thought would be concerns of the townspeople and I think they heard us."
The chain discount store proposed two years ago building a store on the 12 South St. lot that contains a 19th-century Second Empire mansion but ran into heavy opposition from residents as well as roadblocks by the building inspector.
Last year, representatives from the store proposed a new location in the business district on an unused gravel area.
Speth said they are requesting the Planning Board to grant a special permit, which really gives the board no control.
"Special permits are pretty exact if you have this, you have to give it to them or they will take you to court," Speth said.
He said be anticipates Dollar General will submit an application for the next Planning Board meeting.
The Selectmen agreed to attend the meeting to make known any conditions they would like to place on the store.
The Selectmen also have applied for the Complete Streets state program that would allow the town to tap into state technical and financial services to improve roads and intersections. The program encourages the additions of pedestrian and bike path lanes that create connectivity with a community.
"I don't see any harm in getting into the program," Webber said. "This program has been around for a long time."
The town must apply for the program and depending on how the town is scored, it will or will not be accepted.
Department of Public Works Director Peter LeFebvre said the town would have 12 months to prepare for the program and he was concerned that its narrow streets could hinder implementation. He said a hurdle of the program is that oftentimes it mandates bike lanes. Many Cheshire roads are just not wide enough.
He added that if the town's projects are approved, it could receive up to $400,000.
Tags: ACRSD, cheshire school, complete streets, dollar store,
