Published: 2/18/2020 4:02:01 PM
AMHERST — Before any decisions are made about the possibility of educating sixth graders at Amherst Regional Middle School, significant outreach is expected to officials and residents in Amherst and neighboring towns.
At a recent Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee meeting, a report from the grade span advisory group, presented by Amherst representative Allison McDonald, provided a timeline in which a decision could be made within a year on whether to offer the opportunity for sixth-grade classes at the building, which has been exclusively home to seventh and eighth graders since fall 1997.
McDonald said the idea is to have a concrete plan developed during the summer, and then have a decision made by the regional committee next January or February on whether to pursue having sixth graders in the building.
The discussion on having sixth grade at the middle school comes as part of the process of proposing a new elementary school in Amherst that would replace Wildwood and Fort River schools, and determining whether there are ways to accommodate sixth graders elsewhere.
Superintendent Michael Morris said the regional committee, as owner of the building, has to decide whether to open the door for adding the sixth grade. Then all towns, Amherst, Pelham , Shutesbury and Leverett, would engage in dialogue about what is appropriate for their children, Morris said. Pelham, Shutesbury and Leverett each have their own elementary schools where they educate their sixth graders, while Amherst has a total of three.
If only Amherst and one or two of the other towns pursued the option, Morris said, a rental agreement could be developed. If all four towns decided to regionalize at the sixth grade level, as they are for grades 7-12, then the regional agreement would be adjusted.
The building originally opened as a junior high and once had around 1,000 students, but the school population declined once ninth graders moved to the renovated and expanded high school in 1997.
Leverett representative Kip Fonsh said he is concerned that if the regional committee makes the decision to allow sixth graders, that would put pressure on all four towns to go in that direction, and could be seen as a “fait accompli.”
But Shutesbury representative Stephen Sullivan said officials in his town have already determined that the town wouldn’t be part of an expanded middle school.
“Shutesbury will not be sending their sixth grade down the hill,” Sullivan said.
Still, Fonsh said he worries about whether such a change might impact the assessments each community pays.
McDonald said how adding sixth graders would affect assessments for the regional budget is not something that was discussed by the grade span board.
The next step in the possible change will be outreach to the communities, Morris said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment