1. EXPANDING THE RALPH C. MAHAR REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT Key Questions, Key Concerns, Common Interests 10/8/09 1 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

2. INTRODUCTION Long-time resident of Franklin County Teacher, principal, curriculum developer, superintendent Great interest in seeing towns and schools work out the issues of regionalization and regional educational collaboration 10/8/09 2 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

3. THREE POINTS OF VIEW Regionalization is the silver bullet that will improve schools, save money and promote a coherent system of governance and management. Regionalization will cost money, reduce local control, and degrade educational quality. Regionalization, intelligently and collaboratively done, will allow schools and districts to re-direct scarce resources from offices to classrooms. 10/8/09 3 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

4. KEY QUESTIONS of this study Are the Mahar educational partners (Orange, Petersham, New Salem, Wendell) getting the most out of their educational dollars? Through expansion of the Mahar region, or similar organizational re-structuring, could the schools and districts re-direct resources from management to education? Are there educational advantages to regionalization? 10/8/09 4 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

5. THREE POSSIBILITIES THAT WILL ENCOURAGE INVESTIGATION OF REGIONALIZATION Local control can be enhanced through intelligent regionalization. Students will end up with a wider variety and greater depth of quality educational programs. Schools and districts will be more resilient during tough financial times 10/8/09 5 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

6. AVOIDING THE NEGATIVES Lost of local control (budget, education, school) One-size-fits-all approach to education Duplication of management services Reducing school budgets to the ‘lowest common denominator’ Or Raising school budgets to a level that towns cannot afford 10/8/09 6 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

7. CURRENT STATUS: THE CONCERNS ARE OUTWEIGHING THE POTENTIAL ADVANTAGES Must work to neutralize the concerns Then the advantages will be free to operate Clearer situation for some towns than others 10/8/09 7 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

8. A SENSE OF URGENCY, A SENSE OF CAUTION, BOTH WARRANTED Urgency If we don’t do something to make districts more efficient, we’ll end up cutting educational services if (or as) the fiscal crisis continues Caution If we regionalize in haste, or do so without great carefulness, we may make matters worse. Important to respect both perceptions, and still move forward 10/8/09 8 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

9. CENTRAL OFFICE CONFIGURATIONS ARE NOT SUSTAINABLE Too many duties, too many hours, too much unconnected with improving education Have cut central office rather than cut educational services Is reaching a tipping point You have dedicated, competent and hard-working administrators and teachers throughout the system, but… no one can work effectively 80 hours a week 10/8/09 9 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

10. THE STATE REVENUE PICTURE IS GETTING WORSE Chapter 70 cuts for FY11 Transportation Reimbursement? Special Education Circuit Breaker Reimbursement? How will districts adjust? 10/8/09 10 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

11. THE STAKES ARE NOT THE SAME FOR ALL TOWNS All four towns are enjoying the benefits of a region for grades 7-12 Wendell and New Salem are already enjoying many of the advantages of a region, through the Union 28 Supervisory Union, for K-6 Petersham and Orange are not 10/8/09 11 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

12. WHY HAS REGIONALIZATION NOT OCCURRED ALREADY? (ACROSS THE STATE AND IN THE REGION) A question of territory? Or Structural obstacles? Delegation of running of schools to a regional central office (loss of local control) Most regions share a unified budget for elementary schools (finding an average between two extremes) District-wide seniority can erode the culture that develops within community-based schools One large town and three small ones – can create structural imbalances on the school committee 10/8/09 12 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

13. NEUTRALIZING THE NEGATIVES… 10/8/09 13 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

14. WHAT’S LIKELY TO HAPPEN IF WE DO NOTHING? (THERE’S NO GUARANTEE OF SUCCESS, BUT DOING NOTHING GUARANTEES FAILURE) Someone else will choose the structures and partners for us. We will continue to waste precious local dollars on duplication of services. We will continue to devote administrative time to management and governance rather than education. We will continue to have students enter 7 th grade with very different levels of preparation. We will continue to lose essential educational services, as costs increase and revenue falls. 10/8/09 14 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

15. COMMON CONCERNS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND THEIR TOWNS Educational autonomy Fiscal fairness Community-based governance 10/8/09 15 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

16. MAINTAINING EDUCATIONAL AUTONOMY Guaranteeing that existing elementary schools will stay open Providing for building-based seniority Ensuring a central office focus on K-6 education 10/8/09 16 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

17. ENSURING FISCAL FAIRNESS A budgetary approval process that would allow Orange, New Salem, Wendell and Petersham to continue to fund their town elementary schools at levels that they deem appropriate Allocation plan: a way to share expenses and services in a partially regionalized district Admission of school choice students to town elementary schools be based on a local decision- making process regarding space availability and school goals for class size Some sharing of the revenues received by the district for school choice students be credited to the school budget in which the choice child enrolls 10/8/09 17 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

18. MAINTAINING COMMUNITY-BASED GOVERNANCE A governance structure that would ensure that Orange, New Salem, Wendell and Petersham could continue to exercise direct, community-based input into educational decision-making at their local elementary schools 10/8/09 18 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

19. FINDING THE POSITIVES… 10/8/09 19 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

20. ENVISIONING A NEW MODEL Empowered school-community councils. Central office leadership focused on improving education. Efficient use of scarce local tax dollars. A model of process and product that other communities could use. Increased educational specialization within Mahar region schools. 10/8/09 20 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

21. REGION-WIDE MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS Region-wide union contracts (teachers, paraprofessionals, administration, maintenance and custodial) Region-wide health insurance system Region-wide student transportation system (regular and special education) Region-wide special education management Region-wide networks of specialized education (autism, gifted and talented, career and technical) Region-wide professional development center for educators (teachers, administrators, etc.) 10/8/09 21 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

22. POTENTIAL GAINS FROM INCREASED REGIONALIZATION Making Better Use Of Leadership Time Banding Together On Fiscal Matters Providing Shared Professional Development for Teachers 10/8/09 22 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

23. DISTRICT GOVERNANCE An Expanded District is a New District Central Office Staffing A Transition Plan for Central Office Selection of School Committee Members 10/8/09 23 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

24. EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES OF REGIONALIZATION (done properly) Significant amounts of management costs could be re-directed to maintaining and improving quality education. A re-constituted central office management team could provide specialized leadership in special education, elementary education, ELL and so on. An expanded K-12 Mahar would provide increased professional development opportunities for teachers, para-professionals, and central office educational leaders. 10/8/09 24 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

25. EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES OF REGIONALIZATION (DONE PROPERLY) Best practices could be investigated and replicated throughout the district’s schools. Remediation and alignment time and costs at grade 7 and above could be reduced. Schools could combine their resources to offer appropriate programs for relatively ‘low- incidence’ populations of students (ELL, autism spectrum disorder, behavioral programs etc.). Schools could combine their resources to develop and implement programs for gifted and talented students. 10/8/09 25 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

26. FISCAL ADVANTAGES OF REGIONALIZATION Central office business functions could be shared across a much larger group Significant savings might be found in health insurance costs Regional transportation reimbursement would increase substantially Extraordinary special education costs could be shared across a larger district Regional bargaining unit contracts would substantially reduce administrative time and district costs of negotiations A larger district would be more stable and robust in the face of declines in federal and / or state education funding 10/8/09 26 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

27. KEY COMPONENTS OF A REVISED REGIONAL AGREEMENT Differential funding of elementary schools Community-based governance of elementary schools Building-based seniority in elementary schools User-based allocation plan for shared costs (hybrid region) At-large election of school committee members, with residency requirement 10/8/09 27 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

28. KEY ELEMENTS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED OUTSIDE THE REGIONAL AGREEMENT Incremental, partial, parallel or hybrid regionalization (DESE policy and regulation) Building-based seniority in elementary schools (negotiations with bargaining units) Differential funding of elementary schools within a region (statute, DESE policy and practice) 10/8/09 28 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

29. POSSIBLE PARTNERS IN FURTHER EXPLORATION OR NEGOTIATION DESE Center for School Finance, Planning, Research & Evaluation (Christine Lynch, Associate Commissioner Jeffrey Wulfson) W. Mass Legislative team Bargaining units for all districts The Center for Collaborative Education (Pilot Schools Project) 10/8/09 29 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates

30. NEXT STEPS Recommendations of the Planning Team Building Support Among Member Towns Gathering Further Information 10/8/09 30 Ken Rocke - Curriculum Design Associates