Regionalization Time-consuming For Building Needs Committee

by William F. Galvin

            HARWICH -- The work of the school building needs committee has taken on a different focus over the past year, in many ways shaped by external forces pushing for regionalization.

            The committee’s charge, crafted more than a year ago by the board of selectmen, emphasized the need to examine regionalization.  But requests from the Dennis Yarmouth School District, the drive by Gov. Deval Patrick to reduce the number of school districts and to use state funding to encourage combined districts, and discussions between Chatham and Harwich relative to shared educational resources have altered the committee’s focus.

            “A year ago we rejected the idea of regionalization,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carolyn Cragin said in a recent school building needs committee. “Now we see its political influence and advantages.”

            Citing meetings with the Massachusetts School Building Authority, Cragin said the state’s policy of increasing the size and reducing the number of school districts is a philosophy for better education.

            A free-standing high school the size and population of Harwich’s is something the state is not interested in funding, Cragin said. She said the town could make a decision to fund a new facility on its own. “The MSBA has limited funds and specific goals,” the superintendent said.

            The MSBA is interested in Harwich joining with Chatham, and Cragin said building a school for 600 students would meet their goals. The authority wants to see the towns make a good faith effort to examine those goals. But she added if discussions are not fruitful, MSBA would consider funding a joint middle school/high school facility.

            These influences have shaped the evolution of the committee over the past year. Cragin said the state funding agency has offered to provide a facilitator to assist with discussions for regionalization with Chatham.

            “We’re making a case for small schools and ultimately a case for a small region,” Cragin said. “It’s a strength we have.”

            In April, members of the boards of selectmen from both towns, together with representatives of respective school committees, met to break the ice on the concept of regionalization. The outcome was an understanding that Cragin and Chatham Superintendent of Schools Mary Ann Lanzo would meet and discuss the potential for collaboration between the two districts.

            “We’re in the process of developing a set of proposals for how working together will benefit students in both communities,” Cragin said.

            Citing district leadership, Cragin said one person could be placed in charge of an area. By way of example, she said, the two communities could employ one business manager and thus free up money for another purpose.  Presently, she said, Chatham does not have a business manager. 

            They are also looking at the benefits to students. Cragin said they could offer more advanced placement courses could be offered, along with more language courses, including a Chinese program, which many of the more advantaged school districts are offering.

            “It makes more sense to split these courses between two districts,” Cragin said. “There is a pretty significant list of areas for shared resources.”

            Cragin cited a special education director, athletics and the arts as areas where collaborative efforts would improve educational opportunities. Chatham and Harwich are a good match, she said.

            “There is the time and opportunity to do it right,” Cragin said. “We want it to be a positive experience for everybody, taking two good districts and making one excellent district.”

            Cragin said the problem Harwich faces is the high school facility is not adequate and is in decline. She said by 2013 Harwich will need to address the condition of the facility. She said Chatham understands these problems. Cragin said she and Lanzo will meet one more time before convening another session with selectmen and school committee members.

            Cragin said formal regionalization would require a vote of the towns, but the educational interrelationship and collaboration would only require an intermunicipal letter of agreement.

            “At the last meeting I was of the mind we should move on and give the board of selectmen a report,” SBNC Chairman Allin Thompson said.

            But the committee agreed there is a lot more work to be done. They said regionalization has taken up a lot of its time and there is a need to examine the type of facility required to meet the curriculum needs for the 21^st Century. 

             Several members of the committee said regardless of any agreement reached with Chatham, Harwich is going to need a new building and they must begin defining the need to address the board scope of the curriculum. The interrelationship between curriculum and building is essential, committee members said.

            “Regionalization has taken up a lot of time,” committee member Jack Brown said. “There is a lot of other work we’re charged with that needs to be done.”     

            “At this point our scope has broadened considerably,” Cragin said.

            Committee member Dr. Thomas Johnson suggested the committee might want to examine the feasibility of an educational park, bringing the high school to the same campus as the middle school and elementary school, consolidating facilities and creating shared resources, such as a library and cafeteria.

            “The end result must be in the best interest of the children of the community,” Brown said.

            Brown added the committee’s work must also go hand-and-hand with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges report that cited deficiencies in the high school facility that  make it inadequate for providing  a 21^st century education.

            “It’s what we don’t have that’s so necessary,” Cragin said of facility needs.

            “It’s the threat of losing accreditation from NEASC that’s pretty important,” committee member Mary Clarke added.

            The committee agreed that moving forward, they will examine regionalization and collaboration with Chatham, but also define the needs for a high school of the 21^st Century and make residents of Harwich aware of those needs.           

7/24/08