Barre Regional School District Presents Twelfth Consolidation Alternative at Community Forum

BARRE -- May 10, 2017, Barre's regional school district held a second public forum on consolidation options, with consultants presenting a twelfth restructuring alternative and updated enrollment data projecting a drop from roughly 2,048 students to around 1,900 by 2025. The UMass Boston consulting team, which identified one lead as a civil engineer with 30 years of local government experience, showed corrected class-size data revealing sixth-grade classrooms with as many as 32 students alongside kindergarten classes in the low twenties. A scenario eliminating school choice entirely was described as producing a net loss in year one, given the district's current $1.6 million in annual choice revenue. A $100,000 state grant will fund a community facilitator for the next phase of planning. One committee member pressed the consultants directly on building reuse, saying, "I've not heard much, we've done all of that and not really had much success." No votes were taken; the district's fiscal year 2017 budget stands at approximately $32 million.