The Pittsfield select board defined the mission of and appointed the first member to its High School Tuition Study Committee on Tuesday.
The committee was formed two weeks earlier over the objection of the school board to study the possibility of saving money by sending the town’s high school students to be educated in a different district.
The select board’s representative to the committee, Carl Anderson, has said school officials can’t impartially study that issue, which he said addresses “the major expense of the town.”
School board members have said it’s inappropriate for the select board to suggest the school board can’t be trusted to do what is rightfully its job. They concluded May 19 after seeing a presentation by the district’s administration that it wouldn’t save money and would hurt the community to send the students to another district.
Anderson was appointed unanimously Tuesday to be the select board’s representative on the new study committee. He said he’s heard from at least three other people who expressed interest in participating, with the goal of getting to work soon.
The superintendent of schools, John Freeman, recently performed an investigation of this proposal, which surfaced in February at a public budget hearing. Freeman spoke with six nearby school districts and found that five would immediately be more expensive than operating a high school locally and the sixth would become more expensive as soon as next year, when the number of Pittsfield high school students is expected to increase significantly.
Roughly 75 residents turned out to the school board meeting where Freeman made his presentation, many of whom emphasizing that losing the high school would do significant harm to the community.
Anderson wants his committee to complete its own investigation and compare its findings with what school officials determined to be infeasible.
“I have no expectations at that point, other than I want to know what the numbers are,” he said, explaining that there would be a subsequent discussion about the pros and cons for the students of attending a different school.
The mission statement, which was unanimously approved Tuesday, said the committee “shall gather and assess information regarding the feasibility of educating Pittsfield High School students in other school districts, and shall provide the community with available options and a recommendation as to such a change.”
Applications for the committee can be found on the town’s website.
The select board also turned its eyes on the parcels of land at 33 and 37 Main St., which are owned by the town after being taken by tax deed.
These two properties abut each other, as well as the library and a third town-owned property on Joy Street, which the select board said presents a unique opportunity for development at the heart of the town.
Chairman Larry Konopka said he’d like for the residents who expressed interest in 37 Main St. – Bill Miskoe and Paul Rogers – to get together with the economic development committee and discuss the best course of action for that area.
“I’m not looking for the biggest buck today,” he said. “I’m looking for the best plan for down the road.”
Miskoe said by phone that he’s considering buying 37 Main St. so it could be used by the relatively small Carpenter Library for a future expansion to be funded by the library trustees.
Selectman Jim Allard said the properties in question are “smack dab in the center of the town, and anything that goes on there has a lasting impact.”
“Depending on what the idea is, it could be magnificent for the community,” he said.
(Nick Reid can be reached at 369-3325, nreid@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @NickBReid.)