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PVRSD Supt. responds to the proposed Six Town merger
PVRSD Supt. responds to the proposed Six Town merger
As we develop materials, we will add them to the top of this page.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for engaging in this important public conversation.
As we develop materials, we will add them to the top of this page.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for engaging in this important public conversation.
The Six Town Board is setting our towns up for disaster. There is no plan and no funding for getting a new district up and running in 18 months.
Time has officially run out. It doesn't take a crystal ball to imagine the chaos that will unfold if this proposal moves forward.
Questions to ask about the plan
Questions to ask about the plan
Who is going to pay for the work to build the merged district?
How much will that work cost, and how was the cost determined?
When will the funding be secured?
Why didn't the Six Town Board ask the existing school committees if they were willing and able to supervise the building of a new district?
General questions, as of 10/3/25
General questions, as of 10/3/25
Job security: On 9/30/25, at a public forum in Leyden, Six Town Board leaders asserted that no teachers would be laid off if the districts are merged.
What legal or regulatory authority does the Board have to issue this employment guarantee?Sixth grade: The draft regional agreement allows Gill Elementary students to remain at their school for sixth grade. Sixth grade students from all other towns, however, must leave for the new middle school.
How does this proposal ensure equity for students across towns?Capital projects: The Board asserts that there would be no need for a capital or renovation project in a merged district. (See video at 23:30.) However, an external review of Pioneer's buildings conducted by outside experts in 2023 documents the need for major capital work in every one of our schools.
What is the evidence for the Board's assertion that no capital projects are needed?
The Six Town Regionalization Planning Board has acknowledged that their cost analysis for a merger was flawed.
The projected costs were too low, and the projected savings were too high.
The Board has gone back to the drawing board–but time is running out before residents have to vote on the idea.
Questions to ask about the money
Questions to ask about the money
How much will it cost in to bring Gill-Montague educators and support staff up to the salary levels of their Pioneer peers?
What is the financial liability to taxpayers in Bernardston, Leyden, and Northfield for these increased costs?
What was the rationale for not including an analysis of support staff salaries in the financial projections?
The transportation plan for a merged high school requires Pioneer students to wake up earlier, spend more time on the bus, and start their school day earlier.
None of this is good for adolescent health and well-being.
Questions to ask about transportation
Questions to ask about transportation
How does this transportation proposal support the physical and mental well-being of high school students?
What was the response of parent/guardian groups when they reviewed the proposal?
Which research did the Board consult to develop the proposal?
How do we assuage the concerns of a Leyden family when they learn that their student would be getting on a bus at 6:16 a.m., riding for 59 minutes down to Turners Falls, and then repeating the reverse trek every afternoon?
The Board believes it can save money in the central office.
The problem is that their proposed salary structure is out of step with the salaries earned by current administrators all over Franklin County.
Questions to ask about central office
Questions to ask about central office
How did the Board develop its proposed FY28 salary structure for central office administrators?
Who provided an external review, what were their qualifications, and how recently did they serve as a practicing administrator in a Massachusetts public school district?
Since the Board's projections for both teacher salaries and administrator salaries have now been shown to be inaccurate, how can taxpayers be confident that other aspects of the Board's financial models are not similarly flawed?
As we develop more materials in response to the Six Town proposal, we will post them here.
As we develop more materials in response to the Six Town proposal, we will post them here.
Click on the image below to see the
PVRSD Presentation at the Leyden Town Forum on Public Education, 9/30/25
Click on the image below to see the
PVRSD Presentation at the Leyden Town Forum on Public Education, 9/30/25
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