Lunenburg | Ayer | Shirley
School Regionalization Board
FAQ
  • How large will the new district be?
    The region will have around 3300 students, and will assume operation of the schools in Fiscal Year 2012, or July 1, 2011. When it begins, the region will operate two high schools, in Ayer and Lunenburg; two middle schools, in Ayer and Lunenburg; three elementary schools, one in each town; and one primary school, in Lunenburg.
  • How will my town be represented on the School Committee?
    The law requires that seats on the School Committee represent each member town’s share of the total population. According to the MA Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services, the total region population is 25,043. Ayer has 29.43%, Lunenburg 39.72%, and Shirley 30.85%. The agreement calls for a 10-member School Committee, with 3 elected by Ayer, 4 elected by Lunenburg, and 3 elected by Shirley.
  • Where will my child attend school?
    The Regional School Committee will have the authority to set policy regarding grade configuration and enrollment in the schools. The agreement specifies that there will be an elementary school in each town, and that children will in general attend elementary school in their home town. This is highly valued in the three towns, whose voters will elect the school committee. The middle schools in Ayer and Shirley will be merged into one school in Ayer. High school students from Shirley will continue to attend school in Lunenburg or Ayer, until the region has a single facility that can house all students.
  • How will a larger district affect students' education?
    During the transition period, the Regional School Committee, it is vital that the administration and faculty work with the community to develop a strategic plan for the education of students in the new region. The plan will outline goals for putting the resources of the expanded district to use for the benefit of all students in the region. Duplicated services can be restructured to free up resources to create opportunities for improved programs in all community schools. Every effort will be made to minimize day-to-day change for learners in the initial merger period, as the administration and staff reorganize for efficiency. Because of the current economic conditions, we anticipate that Lunenburg and Ayer students may notice no immediate change in services, but will be spared increased class sizes, decreased access to courses and activities, and program losses. The initial priorities for improvement are to align curriculum and instruction across the district and improve access to student services. As efficiencies are achieved, and when a regional high school is created, all regional high school students could see a deeper and broader class and activity selection. Achieving these goals will depend on the strategic plan, school leadership, and consistent community support.
  • Where will new buildings be located (what is the facilities plan)?
    The Lura White School in Shirley will not be used by the region. The Shirley Middle School will become an elementary facility. Some functional renovation to the Ayer Middle-High School will be needed in the near term. The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) stands ready to work with the region for a high school solution if a region is adopted and a suitable site is acquired. The location of a new school will be as near the region’s center as possible, depending on site availability, in order to minimize long-term school transportation costs.
  • If the towns agree to build a new high school, when will it be finished and how much will it cost?
    The duration of construction depends on multiple factors. Some examples are: how soon a suitable site can be located and purchased; unexpected site development considerations; and the timing of a successful vote on a project plan. However, the MSBA estimates that a new construction project can be planned and constructed within three years after location of a site, if no significant obstacles are encountered. There is no reimbursement, so the MSBA pays its share of the costs of construction “as we go,” and the region only needs to finance its share. The proposed Regional Agreement would require adoption by 2/3 of voters in a regional election for borrowing. The MSBA has provided a rough estimate of $70 million for the total covered cost of construction for a new high school for 900-1000 students. The base percentage, before “incentive percentage points,” that the member towns would pay is 45.84%. The MSBA has offered up to 6 additional incentive points for regional solutions. Additional
    incentive points could be awarded, depending on the actual design. The member towns would be assessed by the region for their own share, based on a combination of enrollment, income, and property values.
  • How will the school operating budget be assessed to the towns?
    The budget will be assessed on the basis of the town’s percentage of the region’s total Foundation Enrollment, which is calculated by the Department of Elementary and
    Secondary Education (DESE) every year. It does include all students that a town pays to educate, including those who choice out of the region, go to charter school, or attend a program for which the town pays tuition. It does not include students who come to the region by choice or by tuition agreement, and students attending vocational schools, if their town is a member of that region. School choice, charter school, circuit breaker and chapter 70 revenues and expenditures would transfer from the Towns’ “Cherry Sheets” to the Region’s.

    All towns will contribute their required local contribution, as they do now. Using FY 2009 figures, this is 83.3% of the total assessment, which is about half of the total estimated regional expenditures. The remainder of the assessment is the cost of transportation (8.0% of the total assessment), capital (2.3%), and the towns’ contribution to school spending that exceeds the state requirement (6.4%).

    The proposed agreement will assess each town in the first operating year at the same dollar amount as in the final year of independent district operation; to implement the plan the Board is pursuing funding support from the legislature for transition costs for FY2010 and FY2011. In years 2-5, the assessment will be calculated according to the member towns’ Foundation Enrollment Share. For Ayer and Lunenburg, this is not expected to change the level of contribution for education from the levy, but it will create a gap for Shirley that can’t realistically be closed in a single budget year. Shirley’s state- required spending will increase by $300,000 in 2010 alone. The agreement stipulates that Shirley will pay 25% of the gap in year 2, 50% in year 3, 75% in year 4, and 100% in year 5. The remainders will be split equally in each year by the Towns of Ayer and Lunenburg. This is not estimated to increase the current effort of these towns, but instead would eliminate or slow a decrease in their assessments, as Shirley “catches up” to its full foundation share. The gap is estimated to be quite small compared to the “savings” that will be reinvested to stabilize programming in Ayer and Lunenburg.