New Ashford School Committee Wants Another Negotiation on LES Tuition
NEW ASHFORD, Mass. — The School Committee on Wednesday night voted to accept a tuition agreement to send its seventh- through 12th-graders to Mount Greylock Regional School but asked its chairwoman and its superintendent to try again to negotiate a lower tuition rate to be able to continue sending its younger students to Lanesborough Elementary School.
The three-person committee agreed to recommend that the town approve at town meeting the increased rate of $14,477 for its middle and high school students, contingent upon some clarifications in the language about special education students and transportation costs.
But after nearly two hours of fielding questions and listening to impassioned pleas from a current Mount Greylock student and several parents of students in town, and after acknowledging that the town likely would not approve such a large budget increase at town meeting, the committee decided not to accept the $17,314 per-pupil rate set for Lanesborough Elementary. That figure is nearly double the current tuition rate New Ashford pays to send its kindergarten through sixth-graders to Lanesborough.
The new Mount Greylock Transition Committee earlier this month agreed to set a split rate next year in the new school district — $14,477 for New Ashford and Hancock students attending Mount Greylock Regional School and $17,314 for New Ashford students attending Lanesborough Elementary.
School Committee member Jennifer Welch, also the mother of two current Lanesborough Elementary students, said she was under the impression that the Transition Committee had wanted New Ashford to come back with a figure the town could afford in an effort to assure the district that it could count on the revenue attached to the town's students as it developed its own budget.
"They were expecting us to come back with a figure. They were expecting us to negotiate," she said.
But Peter Dillon, superintendent of Shaker Mountain School Union 70, which comprises New Ashford, Hancock and Richmond, said he was not optimistic that any new negotiations would be welcome. While the Transition Committee might have been willing to negotiate further on its own, it has decided to honor the decision the Lanesborough School Committee made last spring to charge New Ashford the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education per-pupil rate, despite his efforts to broker a better deal for the small town.
"We made what I thought was a compelling argument that it should be phased in," Dillon said. "They said it was their obligation to honor the previously negotiated rate.
"It's my deeply held belief that the Lanesborough piece of this is not going to change," he said. "My sense is it's very clear they are not budging."
The New Ashford School Committee decided, however, that it should make that argument again, authorizing a counter-offer of $12,477, which represents a $3,500 per-student increase, for this year, with step increases over the next two years to reach the DESE per-pupil rate by the end of a three-year contract.
"I think this shows a good faith," Welch said.
While it appeared the majority of the residents who attended Wednesday's meeting approved of trying again to negotiate with the Transition Committee, Dillon shared information he had gathered about three other options for the town's kindergarten through sixth-grade students.
One was the town of Hancock, which has its own elementary school and also tuitions its older children into Mount Greylock. Dillon said Hancock would charge New Ashford $10,000 per student. Dillon said this was the option that makes the most sense geographically, and Hancock's principal, Jay Merselis, who attended the Wednesday's meeting, said he would be happy to talk more with the town about what his school could offer.
"We would welcome you with open arms," he said.
Dillon also received preliminary estimates from both North Adams for $11,945 per student and Pittsfield for $13,316 per student. Neither of these options seemed to garner much enthusiasm, so Dillon said he would focus on getting more solid numbers from Hancock for "extras" the town might have to pay for over and above the $10,000 per student, including helping fund the addition of a full-time nurse at the school to assist with a New Ashford student with medical needs.
The committee decided to set another meeting after it has more information about possible negotiations with the Transition Committee and more detailed numbers about Hancock so that it could prepare a budget in a timely manner to present to the Select Board in advance of town meeting.
They also discussed when to approach the Mount Greylock School Committee — once it is past its transition phase — about having New Ashford join the district.
Tags: LES, MGRS, new ashford, tuition,
