Instead of hiring a new superintendent and business administrator, Pittsfield’s school district is pursuing a deal with Concord to contract out those services.
The talks are still in their “early stages,” according to outgoing Pittsfield Superintendent Sandie MacDonald.
“Concord will need to review any potential agreement with its school board, and any future arrangements would require negotiation, legal guidance, and formal approval by both districts,” MacDonald wrote in an email.
With roughly 450 students, Pittsfield is among the smallest districts in the state with a dedicated superintendent of its own. Many other districts of a similar size are part of a larger school administrative unit or employ an administrator who serves as both the principal and superintendent.
The setup Pittsfield is considering would be more unusual, but not unique: the Middleton School District pays the Governor Wentworth Regional School District for its administrative expenses.
Concord’s Board of Education discussed the possibility of a contract with Pittsfield at a meeting last month.
“There’s still a lot to hash out,” Concord Superintendent Tim Herbert said. “…We’re not interested in getting into a situation that we can’t handle the capacity with our staff that we already have, and we’re not interested in getting into a situation that’s going to put us in any sort of financial bind.”
The talks about how to replace MacDonald and Financial Manager Rheana Anderson, both of whom will depart at the end of this school year, come as the district embarks on a more comprehensive evaluation of its future.
A pair of warrant articles approved by voters last month call on school leaders to study long-term options, including the potential closure of its high school.
The board established a committee on Thursday that will spend the next nine months examining a variety of options.
Pittsfield’s schools have been beset by funding challenges for decades. The town has among the lowest property values per pupil in the state, which results in high property tax rates.
The study of what to do will be open-ended and will not exclusively analyze the prospect of closing the high school. The committee will be tasked with examining “district organization, reorganization, sustainability, governance options, regional partnerships and other structural and operational models,” according to the warrant article.
Its report is due on Dec. 31.
“We shall work together as an open-minded, objective committee,” Board Chair Sandra Adams said.
The study committee will be composed of: board members Molly Goggin and Timothy Robinson; the superintendent or her designee; three staff members; and three members of the public.
Interested members of the public must submit a letter of intent to the superintendent by the end of the day on April 9. The school board will meet on April 16 to select the public’s representatives.
For long-time Pittsfield residents, the study may feel like déjà vu. The district last considered closing its high school in 2021. That inquiry found that doing so would likely not save Pittsfield money, in part because the district’s schools share certain positions that would not be eliminated if the high school closed. The district would also need to figure out where to educate its middle school students, who share the high school building.
Of course, the decision is not purely financial. The committee will also consider the academic experience for students if they remain in Pittsfield or go elsewhere.
“If it costs just a little bit more, but return on investment was much larger somewhere else, then it may make logical sense to do something else,” Robinson said. “There are factors, there are intangibles — so it’s not just financial — on both sides of this.”
The study committee will collectively address warrant articles brought by the board and by citizen petition. The petition warrant article was more prescriptive, calling on the board to “pursue the potential closure” of the high school at the end of next school year.
Pittsfield resident Devin Funk, who submitted that warrant article, said she was satisfied with the process the board landed upon to address it. However, she said she wanted to be appointed to the study committee.
“If we do the study and we find that keeping it open is way more beneficial, then that’s what happens,” Funk said.
“I have kids, so I want to do this for them,” she added. “I want them to get the best education, but I’m also a taxpayer, so I also don’t want to be paying a whole bunch of money either.”
