Regional school committee approves amendment to use four‑year rolling average for debt shares

The regional school committee voted to approve an amendment to its regional agreement that changes how member towns’ shares of debt will be calculated, moving to a four‑year rolling average to determine debt responsibilities once borrowing begins.

Dr. Tom Hickey, who presented the amendment and accompanying materials, told members the bulk of the agreement remains unchanged but the key technical revision "has to do with making this a 4‑year rolling average to calculate debt," and that the Department of Education requested two minor wording updates replacing the word "existing" with "previous." He said the packet includes a PowerPoint, a summary sheet and a line‑by‑line strikethrough of proposed language to help towns and voters understand the changes.

The committee must secure approval in the member towns before the amendment takes further effect: Hickey said the district will send materials to town select boards and to special town meetings in advance of votes scheduled between early October and mid‑December, with the goal that "once six communities pass this amendment and we get the certified results from the town clerks" the commissioner will review the amendment.

Members asked how the amendment would affect admitting new towns. One member asked whether the Marshfield on‑ramp model could be reused for future incoming communities; Hickey said yes and said the committee would add a specific "Town X transition" section if another community sought to join. Hickey explained the timing for Marshfield's full look‑back: Marshfield will move to a four‑year look‑back when it has four grades of students in the building, which he said would not occur until fiscal 2033 under current projections.

On timing and financing, Hickey said construction would begin in earnest in 2026, adding: "shovels would go in the ground in the late spring 2026." He outlined a borrowing schedule that would start with an interest‑only year: the district will include estimated debt service in the fiscal 2026 budget and "we're going to borrow a little bit of money and pay interest in fiscal 26 — that's about $750,000 at last count divided between the towns," with larger borrowing percentages in fiscal 27 and 28.

Several members pressed on fairness for towns that have already contributed toward construction. One committee member, Joe, said it "doesn't seem fair to the nine communities that have ponied up five years to build this school" if a later‑joining town were assessed a different share. Hickey and other members replied that the district could calculate a proportional buy‑in tied to what the stabilization fund and existing towns had already contributed, rather than simply exempting new entrants.

After discussion the committee took a roll‑call vote on the amendment; the chair announced "the motion carries" after multiple affirmative responses were recorded and one member was noted absent. The committee then approved a motion to adjourn and closed the remote meeting.

Next steps: materials will be distributed to member towns for special town‑meeting consideration this fall and into December; once six communities vote to adopt the amendment and town clerks certify results, the district will forward the amendment for the commissioner's review.