Since June of 2023, the ConVal School District has been gearing up to the upcoming vote March 12 on whether the district will be allowed to consolidate schools to save costs and expand program offerings – with a proposal on deck to close four of the district’s smallest elementary schools.

It is far from the first time the district has had the conversation around consolidating schools, as it has been a point of discussion dating back to the 1980s. While the district’s articles of agreement have undergone multiple changes over the years, the residents of the district have not given the two-thirds support needed to change the district’s Articles of Agreement and allow the district to consolidate or close elementary schools, or to close Great Brook Middle School, a proposal that has been on the table twice.

Formation of ConVal

In 1965, a committee was formed and given a task to develop “A plan for expanding school facilities consistent with our educational needs and with the consideration to our tax burden.” The conclusion: Peterborough’s long-term educational needs were best met by reorganizing to an all-grade cooperative school district, and constructing a new high school.

At the time, Peterborough’s school was running out of space. The need for a new high school was becoming apparent, and along with it came the discussion of consolidation. At the time, the state Department of Education was encouraging districts to consolidate, and as Peterborough was looking to a new school, it could qualify for 30% state building aid standing alone, or 55% by qualifying as a cooperative district. Bonding limits would be raised from 7% of the total equalized valuation to 10%.

On Jan. 31, 1967, the towns that would make up the future ConVal School District – Antrim, Bennington, Dublin, Francestown, Greenfield, Hancock, Peterborough, Sharon and Temple – took a vote, after two years of study by representatives of the towns. All nine towns voted in favor of the proposal. Hancock had the most dissenters with 97 no votes to 157 yes votes, and the total across the towns was 1,278 yes votes and 450 nos.

Quickly, work began on building a new centralized high school for the district, and ConVal Regional High School was dedicated Sept. 20, 1970.

Past attempts to consolidate schools

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This year is not the first time the district has considered consolidating elementary schools, usually through targeting a change to the articles, which state that the district must maintain an elementary school in each town but Sharon (whose students attend elementary school in Peterborough), to give the district more flexibility. Attempts to change the articles date back to 1987, when a change was proposed to allow the district to consolidate elementary schools by either School Board request or petition article, but voters turned down the proposition.

Following the first failure to amend the articles, the district invested in the school buildings, passing a $12.9 million bond for renovations at Peterborough Middle School, and to create Great Brook Middle School in Antrim.

In the early 1990s, there was an attempt to change the articles again through a two-thirds vote of the district by secret ballot to close or consolidate any existing school, but again, it failed to gain traction.

In 2001, the district again made a significant investment in its schools, by approving a $4.75 million bond for renovating Peterborough and Antrim elementary schools.

In 2012, a petition article was put to voters, asking to move fifth grade back to elementary schools and to close a middle school. The petition gained popular support – 2,233 yes to 1,623 no district-wide – but not a supermajority.

Great Brook eyed for closure

In 2013, district voters were faced with two articles that could have allowed consolidation of schools – one put forth by the district, and the other by petition.

The district’s article proposed changing the articles to allow a process for the Select Board to recommend closing of a school, if it was operating substantially below capacity, following a closing study and a review of cost savings. The article gained some traction in the district, with 58% of voters supporting the proposal, but fell short of the two-thirds bar to change the articles.

A petition proposal to educate all middle school students in Peterborough – essentially proposing the closure of Great Brook School in Antrim – was less popular, failing to get even majority support, with 37% of voters in support.

Despite the failure, a petition was again submitted in 2015 to close Great Brook, but only gained slightly more support, with 40% of the district voting in support.

In the same year, an article that would have amended the articles to give the School Board authority to close elementary schools also failed, with only 37% of the vote.

ConVal district timeline

April 26, 1962: Education subcommittee is formed to study the issue of combining school districts, due to a change in state aid which more strongly benefits cooperative districts.

January 1966: A six-month study to “develop a plan for expanding school facilities” is concluded, recommends reorganizing to an all-grade cooperative district and constructing a new high school.

Jan. 31, 1967: The towns of Antrim, Bennington, Dublin, Francestown, Greenfield, Hancock, Peterborough, Sharon and Temple vote to consolidate into a single district.

Sept. 20, 1970: The newly constructed ConVal Regional High School is dedicated.

October 1989: District approves funds for renovations at elementary schools and aquisition of land for improved elementary schools.

March 1988: District approved construction program for two renovated middle schools in Peterborough and Antrim.

1987: District votes to establish independant SAU, leaving SAU 47.

1987: District votes against an article to allow the district to consolidate elementary schools by School Board request or petition.

1989: District approves $12.7 million in renovations for middle schools.

2001: District approves $4.75 million for renovating Peterborough and Antrim elementary schools.

2012: A petition article to move fifth grade to the elementary schools and close a middle school gains majority support, but not a supermajority.

2013: A proposed change to allow the School Board to recommend the closure of schools operating substantially below capacity after a study and review of cost savings fails at the polls. A petition article to educate all middle school students in Peterborough also fails at the polls.

2015: A petition article to close Great Brook School and an article to give the School Board authority to close elementary schools both fail at the polls.

June 2023: Conval’s Strategic Organization Committee selects Prismatic to study a reconfiguration plan for the district.

September and October 2023: District holds a series of sessions in member towns to collect feedback from residents on a potential reconfiguration plan.

November 2023: Prismatic recommends closing elementary schools in Francestown, Dublin, Bennington and Temple.

December 2023: ConVal School Board announces support for reconfiguration plan, creating an article to propose the district Articles of Agreement to specify that the district will maintain elementary schools in Antrim, Greenfield, Hancock and Peterborough.

March 12, 2024: Towns will vote on whether to modify the Articles of Agreement. Two-thirds of total voters in the district must approve for it to pass.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.