Regionalization News

Regionalization News

ASRSC Meeting 5/4/2011

The Ayer-Shirley Regional School Committee meeting was held on May 3, 2011, in the Professional Development Room at Page Hilltop School in Ayer.

New Ayer Committee Member

The first order of business at the meeting was to welcome Michele Granger to the ASRSC as the newly elected representative from Ayer. Michele has two children in the district and has been involved with the Page Hilltop PTO and is a member of the AEF Board. Michele replaces Brenda Magno who served on the ASRSC for one year and also serves on the Ayer School Committee. Brenda has been a strong member of the committee and the committee and everyone in attendance at the meeting applauded her dedication and effort on behalf of the new district.

MSBA/Feasibility Study Update

The Regional School Committee is conducting Public Forums to provide the citizens with an opportunity to learn about the benefits to the students and the town and the real cost of the study. The first will be held on May 12th at 7pm at the Ayer Shirley Middle School in Shirley. The second will be held on May 18th at 7pm in the Ayer Shirley High School in Ayer. All citizens are invited to attend either or both forums. Mr. Frost reported that he had been in touch with MSBA and that this is a very busy time of year for them but they are going to plan on sending someone to be present at one or both forums.

ASRD Strategic Plan

Interim Regional Superintendent Mary Beth Hamel headed up a fantastic group of citizens, faculty and school committee members that put together a strategic plan for the next 3 years. The plan is very well conceived and will soon be available on the regional web site. The mission that the team agreed on: “The mission of the Ayer Shirley Regional School District is to educate and graduate all students, to foster a safe environment that develops the skills, character and values needed to become a productive member of a global society. The report set priorities and provides an action plan with five objective areas and plans for completion.

Shirley Presentation

Ron Marchetti presented some data concerning the deficit in the Shirley budget for the upcoming year. The budget for the Shirley school district in the current year is $4.71m and the Regional School Committee has certified a budget for next year with an assessment to Shirley of $4.709, meaning that the budget has not increased. Mr. Marchetti presented the towns position which is that its assessment should be $4.306m. This crux of the difference is that there are funds that were previously dedicated to the school department and had been part of that budget and the regional school district will have to perform those services or pay for those items and so those items were carried over into the regional budget. The town of Shirley is saying that $400k of those items should stay with the town even though they have always been part of the school budget.
One of the items discussed later in the meeting with members of the Shirley FinCom was the fact that cutting the regional budget at this time has devastating impacts to the overall budget. The only money that can be altered is called Net School Spending above required local contribution. The formula for this portion of the budget is Ayer pays 74% and Shirley pays 26%. So for every $1 cut from Shirley we must cut $3 from Ayer in order to maintain this ratio. That means that if the ASRSC lowered the assessment to Shirley by $400k then it would have to lower the assessment to Ayer by $1.2m, resulting in an overall cut to the regional budget of $1.6m.

High School Principal

The high school principal search committee reconvened and reviewed 30 resumes that were received in April. The committee felt that the first new principal of the Ayer Shirley High School was not among this group and so they discontinued the process. The administration led by Superintendents Frost, Hamel and Mock will present options to the ASRSC at our next meeting.

Meeting Schedule Update

The ASRSC voted to continue our current meeting pattern through August: The first Tuesday of the month at 7pm in Ayer at the Page Hilltop School and The third Wednesday of the month at 7pm in the Ayer Shirley Middle School Library.
The one exception to this schedule is the next meeting. Since the Public Forum on the Feasibility study will be held on Wednesday, May 18th, the next meeting of the ASRSC will be on Thursday May 19th at 7pm in the Ayer Shirley Middle School Library.

“Great things happen in the Ayer Shirley Schools every day.”

Pat Kelly
Vice-chair ASRSC

ASRSC Meeting 4/13/2011

On April 13th, 2011, the Ayer Shirley Regional School Committee voted to participate in the school choice program for school year 2011-2011.

ASRSC Meeting 4/13/2011

On April 13th, 2011, the Ayer Shirley Regional School Committee voted to participate in the school choice program for school year 2011-2012.

ASRSC Meeting 11/17/2010

MSBA Update

The Committee had previously voted to borrow the funds for the feasibility study for the addition/renovation project at the middle high school. By regulation we will now be working toward a single question election to occur simultaneously in both towns to see if the towns will authorize the Regional School Committee to borrow the sum of $750,000 for the purpose of conducting the addition/renovation feasibility study for the Ayer Shirley Regional Middle High School. There will be informational forums over the next couple months so that the community has a chance to ask questions about the feasibility study. The date for the election has not been determined yet. The committee is supporting a Saturday election to give the residents the best opportunity to vote on this issue.

It is worth noting that the MSBA has shared with the committee that the reimbursement base rate is 56.89% to the new region. The final project reimbursement rate will be at least 66.89% with another possible 1-2% based on the final construction plans. This means that more than two-thirds of the project will be reimbursed by the MSBA. It is also important to note that the Regional School Committee voted to absorb the cost of the loan into its operational budget so that the vote will not require the town to take on the loan.

Health Insurance Update

The administration and the teachers unions continue to collaborate on finding a health insurance plan that will provide comparable benefits to the current plans. Both groups have hired a single consultant to work collaboratively to examine the benefits and the costs associated with the various plans. The focus is on deciding which insurance pool to join so that we improve the buying power of the district and maintain reasonable control over the plans and the costs. The goal is to make a decision in January so that all enrollments can be completed in advance of the July 1 region operational start date.

Technology Consultant Update

The committee supports the need for infrastructure improvement in the regional district in order to support efficiency in the front office and lay the ground work for providing 21st century educational opportunities to students. The current plan for the infrastructure upgrade is that it will be implemented during the winter vacation.

Administration/Organization

The superintendent search committee has been formed and has begun their work to bring highly qualified final candidates to the regional school committee. The principal search committee is also formed and beginning their work to bring highly qualified candidates to the Interim Regional Superintendent.

Strategic Planning

This committee, under the leadership of Interim Superintendent Mary Beth Hamel and a hired consultant will be working during November and December to put together this plan and submit it to the regional school committee for approval.

FLLAC

The Director of the collaborative, Richard Murphy, provided a brief presentation to discuss the goals and services that FLLAC can provide to the new region. The focus of the collaborative is to provide services and opportunities for students that districts are unable to provide on their own due to a lack of critical mass. The committee received the information positively and looks forward to working with FLLAC in the future to assist us in providing the services needed by the students of the region.

The next meeting will be held on December 7th @7pm at Page Hilltop School in Ayer and on December 15th @7pm in the library of the Ayer Shirley Middle School located in Shirley.

"Great things are happening in the Ayer Shirley Schools every day."

Pat Kelly
Vice-chair ASRSC