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Subcommittee revisits regional agreement changes after Ashby school closure
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Summary
The policy subcommittee discussed revising the regional agreement to remove the requirement that each town host a school building and reviewed membership allocation options to comply with one-person/one-vote guidance from DESE; counsel recommended either a 4-3-1 allocation or an all at-large model and noted a transition plan tied to the decennial census may be required.
The subcommittee reviewed the outstanding regional agreement amendment needed after Ashby Elementary closed, focusing on membership allocation and compliance with "one person, one vote" criteria used by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
Chair Randy and counsel John said the primary unresolved issue with DESE was the committee’s membership structure. John summarized options the committee has considered, including a 4 (Pepperell)–3 (Townsend)–1 (Ashby/at-large) allocation or converting all seats to at-large members; either approach can be designed to meet one-person/one-vote judicial guidance if the district meets DESE’s acceptable variation rules.
John described the analytical approach and legal background for compliance, noting a permissible variation threshold (about a 10% margin) used in assessments. "You get a 10% variation from what is presumed to be each voter being given appropriate weight," he said, and advised the committee that the membership allocation will need periodic review with each decennial census.
The committee also noted that the existing regional agreement contains a provision requiring each member municipality to have at least one school building, which must be removed because Ashby Elementary has closed; members agreed that language needs deletion before DESE approval can proceed.
Next steps: John and Chair Randy will refresh previous analyses and provide detailed notes and proposed transitional language to support DESE approval; the policy subcommittee members assigned to the regional agreement will continue the work and engage with DESE to resolve the membership question.
