North Brookfield committee hears consultant: tuition-out proposals roughly breakeven; residents urge keeping small school

An independent financial review presented to the North Brookfield School Committee on Feb. 4 found that two draft tuition-out proposals from neighboring districts would likely leave the town close to a breakeven position for fiscal year 2027 — but that large uncertainties remain, especially for special-education and one-time employee separation costs.

David Bertolino, introduced to the committee as “a retired CPA and school business manager,” told the committee his PowerPoint compared the status quo with draft proposals from Quabbin Regional and Quaybog Regional and that his work was an analysis, not a recommendation. "The cost required to keep North Brookfield Middle School and High School to not close the middle and high school next year is estimated at $7,000,003.17," he said, citing draft FY2027 budget figures and town-borne costs.

Bertolino said the district would avoid roughly $2,829,000 in currently budgeted middle- and high-school costs if grades 7–12 operations were discontinued. But he said some revenues — notably school-choice receipts, certain DESE-linked grants and local donations — would also be lost, reducing the net savings. He estimated Quabbin’s base tuition at $17,463 per pupil and Quaybog’s at $11,500 per pupil and provided sample first-year totals using estimated affected-student counts.

The analysis highlighted a central unknown: additional special-education costs. "The North Brookfield administration estimate is $1,270,000; the Quaybog administrator's estimate, which I'd call the minimum, is $500,000," Bertolino said, reporting both figures and saying he had not been engaged to audit that difference. He warned that layoffs, sick-time buybacks or retiree-health conversions tied to staff separations could generate substantial one-time liabilities and recommended the committee seek independent, detailed audits before making a decision.

Public comment after the presentation was nearly uniformly in favor of keeping the district open. A first-year teacher identified as Timothy, who teaches biology at North Brookfield High School, said, "I still firmly believe that the school should remain open," and described the school’s small size as an educational strength. Nikki Smith, an elementary-school employee and parent, urged the committee to weigh students’ mental-health and individualized supports: "This school means something to me," she said, recounting the district’s role in supporting a child through a crisis.

Other speakers — long-tenured staff, former committee leaders and students — told the committee that the school’s small-class environment offers opportunities they said larger regional schools may not provide. Student council member Don Ajirane said, "The opportunities here are enough, and I feel we're not highlighting them enough," and urged the committee to consider how to market the school’s strengths to reverse declining enrollment.

Committee members asked for more hard data — MCAS and graduation rates, current choice-in/choice-out counts, and a precise accounting of special-education and contractual liabilities — before any decision. Bertolino recommended that the district investigate how DESE’s school-choice rules would treat current choice students if North Brookfield entered a tuition agreement.

As an immediate next step, committee members scheduled a follow-up special meeting for Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. and posted office hours where staff and the consultant will be available for questions. The committee adjourned after setting the meeting date.