South Shore Regional School District Proposes New Debt Share Calculation

District Plans $280+ Million School Building Project Vote for January

HANOVER, MA - July 24 - The South Shore Regional School District is considering a significant change to how it calculates debt shares among member towns, moving from a fixed amount to a four-year rolling average. This proposal comes as the district prepares for a January 2025 vote on a major building project estimated to cost over $280 million.

Superintendent Tom Hickey presented the proposed amendment to the regional agreement at a recent School Committee meeting. "The idea, the genesis of this idea came from Whitman. And I think it's a good idea," Hickey said.

The current agreement uses a fixed three-year look-back period to determine each town's share of debt for major projects. The proposed change would implement a four-year rolling average, which Hickey argues is more equitable and responsive to enrollment changes over time.

"This is an improvement to our regional plan," Hickey stated. "Whether this project passes or not, this is an improvement to our regional agreement."

The proposed amendment requires approval from six of the district's nine member towns. Several towns, including Hanson, Rockland, Scituate, and Cohasset, have already scheduled special town meetings where they can vote on the amendment.

Hickey emphasized the importance of resolving this matter before the January vote on the building project. "Our ability to say to our communities that we've adjusted our regional agreement and it will go into effect in the first year of borrowing... it is in our best interest to have our communities do that before January of 2025," he said.

The district is currently finalizing cost estimates and schematic designs for the building project, with plans to present updated construction budgets to the school committee on Aug. 7. The full schematic design package will be submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by Aug. 29.

Marshfield, which recently joined the district, presents a unique challenge in the debt share calculations. The proposed amendment includes provisions for a gradual integration of Marshfield's enrollment data into the debt share formula.

"Marshfield's debt share from fiscal year 2026 to 2032 will be calculated annually based on the percentage of Marshfield students divided by the total number of in-district students in the building," Hickey explained.

The potential building project could require debt exclusion votes in member towns. John Galvin, a community member from Whitman, clarified that once a debt exclusion is approved, "it's effective all 30 years throughout. The towns do not approve a specific number each year."

In other business, Principal Sandy Baldner presented an annual report highlighting improvements in student attendance, behavior, and academic performance. She noted that student attendance returned to pre-pandemic levels of 94 to 95 percent, and disciplinary incidents decreased.

Baldner also reported that 100 percent of faculty from the 2023-24 school year are returning for the upcoming academic year.

The school committee concluded the meeting by electing Jack Manning (Scituate) as the new chairman and Dustin Reardon (Norwell) as vice-chairman for the 2024-25 school year.