Superintendent John Provost described regional agreement changes and recommended an approval vote to HWRSD School Committee at its meeting on Oct. 22.
Photo credit: Erin Dowding
WILBRAHAM — After nearly four years of work on the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District regional agreement, the end is almost near after the HWRSD School Committee unanimously voted to approve the proposed agreement’s current state.
Superintendent John Provost ran the School Committee through the agreement’s most recent changes and amendments at its Oct. 22 meeting.
Provost said there have been additional conversations between the towns, district and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education since the previous joint Select Board meeting on Sept. 23.
He said it all boils down to a few changes, which DESE is willing to sign off on based on School Committee and town approval.
The first change allocates and weighs School Committee member votes based on the towns they’re representing in Section I, subsection A1 — membership of the HWRSD School Committee.
Each of the two Hampden members have a weighted vote of .85 and each of the five Wilbraham members have a weighted vote of 1.
Provost said the change is based on DESE feedback, which stated the agreement addressed how votes are weighted in the future but doesn’t address current weights.
Another change deletes “within the district” from Section III, subsection D1 — location of the schools.
The language stated “students with special needs receiving services in accordance with state and federal law, shall attend schools within the district as designated, consistent with the placement determinations made by their IEP teams.”
Provost said “within the district” implied no student would ever be educated outside of the district, which had “implications for students with disabilities and also students attending vocational schools.”
Vocational schooling is specified specially in a change to Section III, subsection G to list Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative’s Career Technical Education Center as the vocational school Wilbraham or Hampden students have the privilege to attend.
Provost said the change in Section IV, subsection C — assessment method, apportionment and payment of costs incurred by the district — is more of a substantive change.
The subsection change specifies guidelines for funding capital projects.
Any capital project for leased schools whose cost exceeds $35,000 as of fiscal year 2026 and $40,000 as of FY30 shall be funded through Wilbraham and Hampden’s respective capital budgeting processes and not the regional school budget.
Provost said the language “future-proofs” the regional agreement and doesn’t require another agreement change based on lease changes.
There are two changes to Section IX — incurring debt. One amendment changes each “Board of Selectman” phrase to “Selectboard.”
The other notes payments of principles and interest on notes issued by the district, such as capital costs, shall be apportioned to Hampden and Wilbraham, according to the method in Section IV, subsection D, on the date the School Committee votes to authorize.
It also states the ratio shall not be changed during the period in which such bonds or other obligations are outstanding, with exception to language in Section VII — amendments.
The School Committee unanimously voted to put the drafted regional agreement and its amendments in front of the towns.
Both towns are slated to take up the regional agreement at their Town Meetings. Hampden’s is set for Monday, Oct. 26 and Wilbraham’s is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 9.
