Revised Nauset Agreement Better, But Still Needs Work

BREWSTER – The new regional agreement between the Nauset Regional School District and its four member towns is better than the existing pact but still lacking in some critical areas, according to select board members.

“This agreement is much better than what we have now,” Select Board member Pete Dahl declared. “I’d like to get movement on a couple of road blocks.”

A three-year process negotiating the new agreement is nearing completion, said Town Manager Peter Lombardi, and the pact will likely go before town meeting voters next year. He said he hopes the document can still be fine tuned to be even better. The current agreement is over 20 years old.

Brewster, Orleans and Eastham are being represented by KP Law in the negotiations, while Wellfleet has its own counsel. 

“A lot has happened over time,” Lombardi said of the last 20 years during which the agreement has been in effect. “The entire agreement has to be brought up to new standards. We do have an interest in trying to find a common interest and hope we can bring this to town meeting in the spring. All four town meetings need to approve this agreement.”

In June, KP Law wrote to the regional school committee thanking it for including revisions consistent with what the towns were asking for in their most recent draft of the agreement but noting there were still significant issues requiring discussion.

Those issues revolve around School Choice students and the tuition they pay. Provincetown and Truro send their students to the high school and middle school and pay tuition which does not include capital costs. The biggest capital cost was the $169 million renovation of Nauset Regional High School, an expense covered by the four towns and voted at two town meetings, one for the $131 million initial cost and another for an additional $38 million for inflation and other costs. KP Law said the towns are seeking earlier and greater involvement in School Choice and tuition decisions as they can significantly affect the towns’ budgets. 

The school committee has agreed to base the assessments to the towns on a rolling enrollment average instead of single year number, as that leads to larger unanticipated fluctuations in the assessments. Lombardi noted Brewster had to pay an additional $500,000 this past year due to enrollment changes.

“The town has provided feedback as to what we’d like to see,” Lombardi said. He noted that during the discussions the school administration has changed and there is a new superintendent (Glenn Brand), which has made things smoother.

What is not included, according to Lombardi, are public hearings earlier in the budget process and decisions on School Choice (there are over 100 choice students at the high school).

“It is on a scale that if implemented has a material impact on staffing and the budget,” Lombardi said, “We’re talking about 100-plus students. We asked for the consideration of town feedback on that.”

He reiterated that the towns were still asking for “a seat at the table” during tuition negotiations with Provincetown and Truro with the hope that some future capital expenses might be included.

Lombardi noted that the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has to approve any regional agreement changes and would rule on the inclusion of capital costs in tuition payments. He’d like to see language on capital expenses included to see if DESE might allow it.

While the regional school committee will determine the final text of the agreement, if the local select boards and school committees are not in support that would make town meeting approvals difficult, Lombardi observed, since the agreement can’t be amended at town meeting.

“The language requires a five-year review of the agreement,” Lombardi said. “We have a much better agreement than we have today. Ultimately the school committee will decide what version of the agreement goes to town meeting.”

DESE will review the new agreement before it is presented to town meeting.