Northborough,
Massachusetts
REGIONAL AGREEMENT
Regional Agreement
For a Regional School
District for the towns of Northborough and Southborough, in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, hereinafter referred to as member towns.
Section I. The Regional District School Committee
(a) The Regional District School Committee, hereinafter referred to as
the Committee, shall consist of ten members; five from the Town of
Northborough and five from the Town of Southborough.
(b) Within ten days after the establishment of the Regional School
District, the Local school committee of each member town shall select
from its own membership the Committee members specified in Section I (a)
above.
Such selectees shall serve for the duration of their respective terms on
their local school committee and until their successors are selected and
qualified under Section I (c) below.
(c) The Regional School Committee shall be elected at annual Town
elections on a staggered basis. There shall be five members from each
Town, each of whom shall serve a term of office of three years.
During the initial election after the ratification of this amendment,
the terms of election and terms of office shall be as follows:
1. The one candidate receiving the highest number of votes as certified
by the Town Clerk shall serve a three year term of office.
2. The two candidates receiving the second and third highest number of
votes as certified by the Town Clerk shall serve two year terms of
office.
3. The two candidates receiving the fourth and fifth highest number of
votes as certified by the Town Clerk shall serve one year terms of
office.
Upon the completion of the terms of office outlined in paragraphs 1-3
above, successors of each office shall be elected to a three year term
of office.
(d) The quorum of the committee shall be six members.
The quorum of the Committee shall be six members, of whom at least one
shall be from each member town.
(e) If the event that a vacancy occurs on the committee, the vacancy
shall be filled by an appointment or election by the remaining Regional
Committee members from the affected community.
Section II. Location of the Regional District School
(a) The Regional District school shall be located in Northborough as near as feasible to the geographical center of the district.
Section III. Type of Regional School
(a) The Regional District school shall be a senior high school consisting of grades 9 through 12 inclusive.
(b) The committee is hereby authorized to establish and maintain State-aided Vocational Education, acting as trustees therefore, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 74 of the General Laws and amendments thereof or dependent thereon; if the Committee deems it desirable.
Section IV. Apportionment and Payment of Costs Incurred by the District
(a) For the purpose of apportioning assessments levied by the District against the member towns, costs shall be divided into two categories: capital costs and operating costs.
(b) Capital costs shall include all expenditures relating to capital outlay such as payment of principal and interest on bonds or other obligations issued by the District, and any other expenses associated with the acquisition of real estate, the construction and improvement of buildings, grading, purchase of equipment, and other activities incident to placing in operation the original school plant and any subsequent additions and improvements thereto.
(c) Operating costs shall include all other costs such as salaries, wages, supplies, texts, repair and maintenance expenditures, interest on notes issued in anticipation of revenue, and other costs incurred in the day-to-day operation of the school.
(d) Payment of initial capital costs shall be apportioned between the member towns as follows:
-
Northborough 58.25%
-
Southborough 41.75%
Payment of future capital costs as determined by Section IV, Clause (b) shall be apportioned between the member towns according to the student population from each member town attending the school at the time the debt for any given capital improvement shall be contracted. For the purposes of this clause, future capital costs shall mean all capital costs incurred after the general contract for the school is completed and the school accepted and occupied.
(e) Within two days after the date on which the Committee authorizes the incurring of debt, other than temporary debt in anticipation of revenue to be received from member towns, the Committee shall cause written notice of the date of said authorization, the sum authorized, and the general purpose or purposes for authorizing such debt, to be mailed by registered mail to the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen of each member town at his last known permanent address in such town.
(f) Operating costs for the first calendar year or fractional year the Regional District school is in operation, and for any calendar year thereafter, shall be apportioned to the member towns on the basis of their respective enrollments in the Regional District school on October l of the preceding year, or in the event that enrollment in the Regional District school has not been accomplished by said date, on the basis of the number of pupils in grades 9 through 12 in each member town as of October 1 of the preceding year who were receiving education at each town’s expense, but excluding pupils who were attending vocational schools.
(g) Each member town shall pay its proportionate share of the capital and operating costs to the District each year in four equal installments not later than the first of March, June, September and December.
Section V. Transportation
(a) Transportation to and from the Regional District school and any other transportation for Regional school purposes shall be the responsibility of the Regional School District and its cost shall be an ordinary operating expense.
Section VI. Admission of Additional Towns to the Regional School District
(a) Any town may petition to become a member town in the District under terms stipulated in a proposed amendment to the Agreement, said petitioning town shall become a member town if the proposed amendment is approved by the Committee and accepted by the petitioning town and each member town, and provided further that the petitioning town shall also accept the Agreement with any amendments thereto Approval by the committee to require a majority vote, and acceptance by the petitioning town and by the member towns to be by majority vote at either special or annual town meetings.
(b) Upon admission of a town to the District, assessments levied against the member towns by the District to meet capital costs as defined in Section IV (b) shall be reapportioned, the terms of reapportionment to be stipulated in the amendment to the Agreement by which the town is admitted to the District.
(c) The newly admitted town shall pay to the District its share, as determined in Section VI (b), of the funded indebtedness already retired. For the purpose of this calculation such retired indebtedness shall be considered as the difference between (1) the original plus any subsequent capital costs, exclusive of interest and the total state construction grant, depreciated at the rate of 2 per cent per year, and (2) that part of capital costs as yet unpaid less that part of the state construction grant not yet received. Such share shall be paid in equal installments not later than the twentieth of March, June, September and December in each year during the remaining period of indebtedness. Payments thus made shall be credited to the other towns comprising the District in amounts proportionate to the share of capital costs each has paid in the past.
(d) If no funded indebtedness exists, the newly admitted town shall nevertheless assume Liability for its share of past funded indebtedness which shall be computed in the manner described above in Section VI (c) and paid directly to the other towns then comprising the District in the proportion due each, payments to be made in ten equal annual installments.
Section VII. Withdrawal of a Town from the Regional School District
(a) Any member town may petition to withdraw from the District under terms stipulated in a proposed amendment to the Agreement provided (1) that the town seeking to withdraw has paid over to the District any operating costs for which it became liable as a member of the District, and (2) that said town shall remain Liable to the District for its share of the indebtedness of the District outstanding at the time of such withdrawal, and for interest thereon, to the same extent and in the same manner as though the town had not withdrawn from the District, except that such liability shall be reduced by any amount which such town has paid over at the time of withdrawal and which has been applied to the payment of such indebtedness or interest.
(b) Said petitioning town shall cease to be a member town if the proposed amendment is approved by the Committee and accepted by the petitioning town and each of the other member towns, approval by the Committee to require a majority vote, and acceptance by the petitioning town and by the other member towns to be by majority vote at an annual or special town meeting.
(c) Money received by the District from the withdrawing town for payment of funded indebtedness or interest thereon shall be used for this purpose only.
Section VIII. Amendments
(a) This Agreement may be amended at any time and from time to time, in the manner hereinafter provided, but no such amendment shall be made which shall substantially impair the rights of the holders of any bonds, or notes or other indebtedness of the District then outstanding, or the rights of the District to procure the mean's for payment thereof, provided that nothing in this section shall prevent the admission of a new town or towns to the District and the reapportionment accordingly of that part of the costs of land acquisition and construction represented by bonds or notes of the District then outstanding and of interest thereon. An amendment may be proposed by vote of the Committee or by vote of any town meeting of any member town. In the latter case the town clerk shall forthwith deliver a copy of such vote to the secretary of the Committee. In either case, the secretary shall forthwith deliver a copy of the vote proposing the amendment to the town clerk of each member town, and each such town shall vote at its next annual town meeting, or at a special town meeting called for the purpose, upon the acceptance of such amendment. Such amendment shall take effect upon its acceptance by each of the member towns in the manner hereinabove provided.
Section IX. Annual Budget and Report
(a) The Committee shall determine the amounts necessary to be raised to maintain and operate the Regional School during the ensuing fiscal year. and the amount required for payment of debt and interest incurred by the District which shall become due in said year. and shall prepare and adopt a formal budget accordingly and submit copies thereof to the Finance Committee or Advisory Board of the member towns on or before March 1 in each year. The Committee shall apportion said budget in accordance with the provisions of Section IV of this agreement. The amount so apportioned, to the extent permitted by state law, for each town shall, within thirty (30) days from the date on which the annual budget is adopted by the Committee, be certified by the Regional District Treasurer to the Treasurers of the member towns and each town shall appropriate the amount so certified. The fiscal year shall run from July 1 through June 30 in each year.
(b) The Committee shall annually submit a report to each of the member towns as provided in Section 16 (k) of Chapter 71 of the General Laws.
Section X. Subcommittees
(a) The Committee may from time to time create subcommittees, the members of which need not be members of the Committee, and assign to such subcommittees, subject to the supervision of the Committee, such advisory functions as the Committee may determine. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Committee may, to assist it in the construction of the Regional school, appoint a building committee to advise it with respect to plans, specifications, appointment of architects, engineers, the awarding of contracts, the supervision of construction, and any other assistance which the Committee may desire
Section XI. Organization of the Committee
(a) The Committee may equip and maintain an office at such place within the District as it may determine.
(b) Within ten days after the appointment of the initial members, the Committee shall organize by the selection by ballot from their members a Chairman and by the appointment of a Secretary and Treasurer who may be the same person and need not be members of the Committee.
(c) The Committee may appoint such other officers and agents as it deems advisable. Provision shall be made for meetings including an annual meeting at which officers of the Committee shall be elected. The Secretary of the committee shall give three days notice by mail to all members of the time and place of any Committee meeting.
Section XII. Tuition Pupils
(a) Students residing outside the Regional School District may attend the Regional District school upon approval of the Committee and payment of tuition as determined by such Committee.