No Immediate Resolution on Up-Island School Budget

Members of the West Tisbury Financial Committee raised pointed questions but came to few resolutions at a meeting with  school committee officials last week on an Up-Island Regional School District budget they previously rejected.

Committee members preliminarily voted down the proposed $8.5 million budget in January, based on concerns West Tisbury is paying too high a percentage of the operating costs for the and Schools.  

The district’s budget, divided proportionally between West Tisbury, Chilmark and Aquinnah, increased 2.1 percent over last year.

According to the school district assessment formula, West Tisbury will pay an additional 4.5 percent under the new budget, while Chilmark and Aquinnah’s assessments will decrease. The increased costs are the result of enrollment data, which indicates that Chilmark may be forced to add an additional classroom to its school next year.

Despite increased enrollments at the Chilmark School, West Tisbury is home to the majority of students in the district, so it pays a greater share.

The school district has long been plagued by internal strife, with West Tisbury having considered disbanding the regional structure in 2007. That strife has only increased since the financial committee’s vote.

But at a recent meeting with the West Tisbury Board of Selectmen, financial committee members stated they were not seeking to disband the district or close the Chilmark School.

“The product is good. Everybody I’ve met with at that school has been a quality person,” said member Greg Orcutt. “That’s not the issue. It’s me and everyone in this group understanding the numbers.”

Orcutt raised concerns that the Up-Island budget is significantly higher than that of other towns. The Up-Island schools allocate approximately $20,000 per pupil, as opposed to $14,000 in .

“If we could provide that quality of education at a cost that is a little lower,” said Orcutt, “I would be very happy with the Up-Island Regional School District. I think it’s a little rich.”

Despite accolades for the well-performing Chilmark School, financial committee members veered into familiar territory, again questioning the practicality of the regional model.

If the district were to disband, said schools business administrator Amy Tierney, the two elementary schools would not be reimbursed by the state for transportation costs.

Tierney added that the town assessment model had been studied extensively in recent years. “We found that it all came out pretty even,” she said.

Superintendent Dr. James Weiss endorsed the budget. The school committee previously “debated, discussed, agonized over that budget for several meetings,” sauid Weiss. Ultimately, the school committee came to believe that the budget offered the same services and same quality as previous years, at as close a price as was possible, given the potential need for an additional classroom.

“I would love to see a budget for the West Tisbury School out of the district,” said Financial Committee member Jonathan Revere. “It would help me to understand why we should stay in the district.”

Committee members said they would further review the budget.