Font ResizeAYER -- Seven percent of the town's 4,752 registered voters attended Saturday's Special Town Meeting to make a momentous decision: Should Ayer and Shirley schools combine into a single regional school district?
In short order, the majority responded: Yes.
The Saturday session was unusual for Ayer, which typically convenes town meetings on Monday nights. After presentations from members of the regional school study group, there were just two comments entered from the audience before Town Meeting agreed on a strong voice vote to "move the question." The whole deliberation, not including the paper ballot vote tally, lasted about a half an hour.
It didn't take the volunteers long to come back with the overwhelming vote of 287 to 33, read aloud by Town Moderator Dan Swanfeldt to cheers.
After a 2007 effort to unify Ayer, Shirley and Lunenburg fell apart last fall due to a lack of transitional funding from the state, Ayer and Shirley representatives used the data gathered to press ahead with a two-town district. Four open forums followed, along with numerous small gatherings and dozens letters to the editor in regional newspapers.
At the Ayer Town Meeting, several presentations were made in support of the proposal.
Regionalization Study Committee member Tom Casey said "remaining status quo is a step backwards. We need to move forward." He outlined curriculum upgrades the merger would make possible, including increased Advanced Placement
Ayer School Committee member Patrick Kelly outlined the first-year operating budget for the merged district in fiscal 2012 at $24.4 million, with $12.2 million coming from state and federal sources like Chapter 70, Title I and School Choice funds and the other $12.2 million coming from the towns. Between the blended budgets, there was a difference of $1.4 million more to be found, he said. Kelly announced eleventh-hour news that arrived Friday, alerting the towns that of the $550,000 state aid sought for transitional assistance, Gov. Deval Patrick pledged $375,000 in federal stimulus dollars toward the cause, leaving a $175,000 gap to be bridged.
Regional Study Committee member Theodore "Teddy" Januskiewicz outlined the composition of the regional school committee as three representatives for each town, with staggered terms. Budgets would be drafted by the committee, with allotments due apportioned between the towns and submitted to the respective spring Town Meetings for approval. Rejection of a budget sparks a review by the regional school committee, followed by a return visit to the Town Meeting.
"You're not losing any control," Januskiewicz said, "You get one to two shots at the budget. If you don't like it, shoot it down. You put these people in office and they're here to look out for your best interests."
Ayer Selectman Rick Gilles said a five-year budgeting projection by the Ayer TriBoard suggests a merger makes economic sense, even it's an educated guess this far in advance of future revenue and local aid figures. "This was counter intuitive to us when we created the models," Gilles said. "We didn't expect it but it turns out regionalization makes sense financially."
From the floor of the meeting, only two voices were heard before the call to vote on the matter was moved:
Resident Jim Nehring spoke called for a "yes" vote but urged a retooled educational approach instead of the traditional "comprehensive" high school teaching models. Nehring appealed to the attendees to look at the success of the Francis Parker Charter School at Devens. "We have an opportunity -- a great deal of positive energy around regionalization and we have the opportunity to do something wonderful now," Nehring said. "Seize the day."
Former Finance Committee member and selectman candidate Mary Spinner agreed that regionalization should proceed, then immediately sought to "move the question." On a voice vote, Town Meeting did just that, opening the ballot box for attendees to make their final decision by secret ballot.
As the votes were tallied, Town Moderator Dan Swanfeldt showed the audience a short stack of yellow ballots in one hand, which he announced were the "no" ballots, in contrast to the thicker stack of yellow ballots in his other hand, which he said was only a partial count of the "yes" ballots. It became clear to those remaining for the results that regionalization passed handily.
After the vote, interim Ayer Superintendent of Schools George Frost said he was headed to Shirley to watch the debate there. The start of the vote in was delayed start by an overflow turnout.
Shirley voters also approved regionalization on Saturday.
"I'm thrilled for the kids of Ayer," Frost said, "I think we've created the beginning of a tremendous opportunity to improve education."
Before leaving the auditorium, Swanfeldt took a moment remember his mentor, Charles Horgan, who died last week and whose funeral was held at the same time as the town meeting. Swanfeldt said Horgan's demeanor made him a superior fit for the role of town moderator. "He ran the meetings with class and a sense of humor," said Swanfeldt's wife, Karin, who was standing by.
"Chuck told me the moderator is in the middle," Dan Swanfeldt said. For Saturday's meeting, however, there were no issues to balance.
Swanfeldt noted the bittersweet intersection of the March 6 dates for the Special Town Meeting, Horgan's funeral, and the date painted on the side of the ballot boxes, "March 6, 1871," the year that Ayer was incorporated.
