By Mike Donovan
HUNTINGTON– In the wake of a vote in the state House of Representatives Dec. 16 to allow Worthington to withdraw from the Gateway Regional School District, town officials from Russell, Huntington, Chester and Middlefield met in Stanton Hall last week and decided to consider strategies to prevent the bill from moving forward or to mitigate its impact on the other six Gateway towns if it does. It must now pass the senate and be signed into law by the governor.
Huntington Selectboard Chair Aimee Burnham said later that she wasn’t expecting that many people to attend the selectboard meeting last week, but some had apparently noted on the board’s posting that they would be discussing the withdrawal effort.
“I was really surprised when they showed up,” she said.
The result was an impromptu discussion of the situation. Present at the meeting were Joe Kearns, of the Middlefield Finance Committee; Ruth Kennedy, member of the Russell School Committee; Pandora Hague, Russell Selectboard Chair; Derek Mason, Russell Finance Committee; Michael Crochiere, Chester Finance Committee; Darlene McVeigh, Huntington Finance Committee Chair; and Burnham and Jeff McKittrick of the Huntington Selectboard.
All were critical of the manner in which the legislation was passed–during an informal session of the house with only five members present. The maneuver, reported Monday night by a local television station, had taken the officials by surprise.
Also meeting informally, they quickly agreed to schedule a more formal meeting and invite local legislators, including Downing and Kulik as well as Don Humason, who was recently elected state senator to fill the seat left vacant when former Senator Michael Knapik resigned. Kearns also suggested inviting state Representative Peter Kocot, who represents Montgomery, one of the Gateway towns. As a public meeting, it will be open to any and all other interested parties as well. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 5:30 p.m. in Stanton Hall, with a snow date of Monday, Jan. 13.
The main concern with Worthington’s withdrawal from the district is the financial impact on the other six towns. Figures the district released earlier this year indicate the increase in education costs will hit Huntington and Russell the hardest, at around $200,000 each, but Gateway Business Manager Stephanie Fisk later cautioned that the figures were based on the state budget released by the Governor almost a year ago, which changed during debate in the house and senate. In any case the Governor will be fielding a new budget in January, and Fisk said she will be looking at its Chapter 70 education figures to come up with the present numbers.
Chester and Huntington in particular have been struggling to stay within with their levy limits—the annual budget increases allowed under Proposition 2 ½–when assembling their own budgets, and the withdrawal of Worthington would make the problem worse. One Chester official was quoted recently as suggesting the town might have to declare bankruptcy.
Burnham later pointed out that Representative Steve Kulik, who, with state Senator Benjamin Downing, had written the legislation, was Huntington’s representative as well as Worthington’s.
“We’re disappointed in our town’s representation by Mr. Kulik,” she said. “We’re going to try to get the senate to see our point of view.”
After the legislation cleared the house, Kulik was quoted as conceding that the withdrawal would impose higher education costs on the other Gateway towns and said he would be looking for ways to mitigate the financial impact.
Burnham said she tried to verify the statement by emailing Kulik’s office, but as of last Friday morning had received no response.
She also contacted Downing’s office and the office of Senate Majority Leader Stan Rosenberg, and asked if language in the legislation could be amended.
“There should be something in the bill to mitigate the impact on the other towns,” she said.
Burnham said she was told that the language could, in fact, be amended, but when she asked whether it could include some way of reducing the financial damage to the other towns, an aide at Rosenberg’s office wasn’t sure.
The Gateway towns are Blandford, Russell, Montgomery, Huntington, Chester, Middlefield and, of course, Worthington.
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