Officials Address Controversy Around Regionalization Talk

ORLEANS – Speaking before the select board and finance committee last week, Nauset School Superintendent Brooke Clenchy acknowledged the tension that has grown locally around the dreaded “R” word.

In some circles, she said, the simple mention of regionalization has become verboten.

“One of our communities has said ‘Do not bring that word to this table,’” she told both boards March 27. “Not to me, but to somebody else.”

The topic has come up in conversation as the district’s member towns of Orleans, Brewster, Eastham and Wellfleet are pursuing a state regionalization and efficiency grant that if awarded would allow the towns to look at ways of optimizing the use of the district’s elementary schools. That has led to worry among some residents that that process could ultimately lead some schools to close.

“So I think I just put it out there because I know that’s a word that’s circulating out there,” Clenchy said. “We’re not afraid to have those discussions, but there are no promises in this, and I think you really want to look carefully at your next steps.”

Clenchy was before both boards March 27 to present proposed fiscal 2025 budgets for the regional school district and Orleans Elementary School. The elementary school is proposing an overall budget of $6.04 million, which represents a 4 percent increase from the current fiscal year.

OES Principal Elaine Pender cited salaries and the cost of transportation and supplies and materials as among the biggest cost drivers in the proposed budget. But the school’s special education costs are down 3.5 percent, an anomaly as other district elementary schools are seeing significant cost increases in special education.

“One of the reasons is we keep a very strong team of people that are trained and are supporting all students with a large variety of needs,” she said.

While officials applauded efforts to keep year-to-year budget growth at the elementary school close to 3 percent, the topic of regionalization came up as officials pondered how to keep expenses down in the face of declining enrollment.

OES has seen student enrollment fall from 165 students in 2021-2022 to 142 students this year. Ed Mahoney of the finance committee estimated the cost per student in fiscal 2025 to be approximately $42,000, based on the current 142-student enrollment.

“We’re in a valley,” he said. “Is it going to start getting better? Is it going to plateau, or is this trend going to continue? Because at $42,000 [per student] a year for elementary, that’s a big nut to swallow.”

Clenchy said it’s hard to forecast where enrollment will go in the future, but she said that the regionalization and efficiency grant could help the district towns collect the data it needs to make decisions on how to optimize its schools. But she also cautioned officials of the “divisiveness” that efforts to regionalize can create in communities.

“I’m very conscientious of that,” she said. “I’ve seen where it’s worked, and I’ve seen where it has not worked, and that leaves scars in the community that are generational.”

But while she acknowledged the sensitivity that surrounds the topic of school regionalization, Clenchy said there are “big implications” in whatever decisions come out of exploring the idea. She also stressed the importance of extending conversations out beyond school and town officials.

While talk of regionalization has been controversial, some officials last week stressed the benefits that have come from the decision voters in the four towns made years ago to create the Nauset Regional School District.

“Could you picture us on our own doing all of what’s done in the region? It would be impossible,” said Kevin Galligan of the select board.

But others saw opportunities for lowering the town’s elementary school costs apart from regionalizing. Mark Mathison of the select board said bringing more children and families to town will boost student enrollment and lower costs in the process. But to do that, he said the four district towns need to be united in their efforts to bring changes to local zoning that can in turn allow the creation of more housing.

“Housing is the key to the schools and to the survival of our towns,” he said.

Select Board member Andrea Reed, meanwhile, said change could also come at the state level. She said efforts should be made to push legislators to change the formula by which the state assesses its Chapter 70 aid for public schools.

“School funding follows real estate assessments and not salaries,” she said. “And if that formula was changed at the state level, we might not be feeling the pain of these conversations. There’s no point in not lobbying for it now.”

Email Ryan Bray at ryan@capecodchronicle.com