Editor’s note: Since the revised agreement first came up for voting by district towns a year ago, 10 of the 16 towns have approved the new agreement while five (Belmont, Boxborough, Dover, Lincoln and Sudbury) have deferred their votes and one (Wayland) has voted no.
To the editor:
On Saturday, March 28, voters in the town of Lincoln have a unique opportunity to assist Minuteman High School, an institution with which the town has been associated for the past 40 years. Voters at Town Meeting can act to approve Article 34, ratifying a new Minuteman Regional Agreement.
As a Lincoln resident and long-time educator, I am urging Town Meeting voters to say “yes” to the new agreement.
Why should the Town of Lincoln approve the new Regional Agreement now? There are several reasons:
- The agreement is a reasonable compromise borne out of nearly five years of negotiation.
- A majority (10) of Minuteman’s 16 member towns have approved the revisions.
- Compromise rarely generates complete satisfaction; there are positives and negatives:
- Lincoln’s share of capital costs would increase based on the Mass. Chapter 70 aid variable.
- Lincoln’s weighted vote would be 4.0 percent vs. the present 6.25 percent.
- Assessments will be averaged over year years (vs. one year) to lessen annual budget volatility.
- A reasonable pathway for communities to exit or enter the district is created.
- Minuteman and Lincoln town officials have discussed ways to moderate negative impacts.
- The State Board of Education voted new regulations requiring non-members to pay for capital projects.
- A revised agreement will benefit the retention of a 40 percent minimum reimbursement rate from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, when a project is eventually approved (est. 2016).
- Project delays have put the school’s accreditation with the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC) in jeopardy due to the physical condition of the building.
If the new agreement is not approved, there’s increased risk that the building project will fail—and we’ll lose 40 percent state funding. If that happens, we still have a building to fix or replace. Lincoln will continue to be responsible for those capital costs—with or without financial help from the state.
Further, if the new agreement is not approved, Lincoln will probably have no workable option to withdraw from the district. Without a change in the existing agreement, the town will need to secure approval from all 16 current members.
Of course, the easiest decision for the Town of Lincoln is to do nothing—to continue to “pass over” this issue. But that’s not the right decision, either for Minuteman High School or for our town.
I ask my fellow voters to say “yes” to Article 34. On behalf of the school, I ask for your support and leadership.
For more information about the agreement, please visit these Minuteman websites.
- Materials about the Regional Agreement
- Articles on the importance of a Minuteman education
- FY16 budget information
Sincerely,
Edward A. Bouquillon, Ph.D. (superintendent, Minuteman High School)
10 Mill St.
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.
