CHESHIRE, Mass. — The public is invited to Hoosac Valley High School this weekend to participate in a study to identify and analyze cost-saving alternatives for the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District.
"It's to learn, to listen, to provide background, to receive information and to share," School Committee member," Edmund St. John IV said. "It is a chance to partake in the conversation about the future of the district."
This Saturday at 10 a.m., the Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston will ask Adams and Cheshire residents to join in on a "World Cafe" style discussion to gather community values and aspirations, particularly as they relate to municipal finances and education.
Interim Superintendent Robert Putnam suggested anyone concerned about the school district or who is interested in the future of the district should attend the event
"Participatory politics is a small-town American tradition and if you don't go you can't participate," he said.
The town of Adams was able to hire the Collins Center through its Community Compact grant to identify and analyze alternatives to reduce costs for Adams-Cheshire Regional School District.
The district, which has been hit year after year with rising costs and shrinking financial resources, has been seeking opportunities to shrink costs. This includes possibly closing a school.
The study began earlier this year and both the towns and the school district provided information and historical trends to aid in the study.
At Saturday's meeting attendees will split into groups of six to eight in which they will discuss what they value in the school district and in the community, what they fear about the process and what some good alternatives would look like.
The groups will shift around and the Collins Center will record and synthesize the community input.
There will be a second meeting Thursday, Nov. 3, in the evening.
The meeting will be held in the cafeteria and child care will be provided.
