Regarding the proposed school merger with Stamford VT

ARTICLE ONE: (majority vote)

To see if the Town will authorize the School Committee, working together with the Interstate Merger Committee, to move forward with the planning required to implement the proposed merger of the school districts in Clarksburg, MA and Stamford, VT into one consolidated school district.

The School Committee, Superintendent, and Principal will review the options and recommendations presented by the Public Consulting Group (PCG) in May from their feasibility study of the proposed interstate school merger between Clarksburg, MA and Stamford, VT. 

DEFINITION OF EACH OPTION:

Option 1: No Change to Current State

Both districts remain as independent school districts. There is no consolidation or sharing of services. There is no change to their Supervisory Union or School Union membership.

Option 2: Merged Schools Operating with Current Grade Configurations

Clarksburg and Stamford School Districts merge into a single, newly formed school district. All of Clarksburg and Stamford schools’ central office functions are consolidated, but no changes are made to current school. All Clarksburg students continue to attend the Clarksburg School in Massachusetts. All Stamford students continue to attend the Stamford School in Vermont. The Windham Southwest Supervisory Union no longer provides oversight for grades PK-8. The newly merged district is the largest member of the North Berkshire School Union in Massachusetts. The intended benefits of this option are primarily financial. However, PCG’s analysis indicated these savings would be minimal and this option would not address the needs of each town and school district.

Option 3: Merged Schools Operating with New Grade Configurations

Clarksburg and Stamford School Districts merge into a single, newly formed school district. All of Clarksburg and Stamford schools’ central office functions are consolidated, and changes are made to current school configurations. All students in both towns in grades PK-2 attend the Stamford School in Vermont. All students in both towns in grades 3-8 attend the Clarksburg School in Massachusetts. Stamford School District no longer remains a member of the Windham Southwest Supervisory Union for grades PK-8. The newly merged district is the largest member of the North Berkshire School Union in Massachusetts. The intended benefits of this option are both financial and educational.