West Tisbury Committee Wants Chilmark to Share More Financial Burden

By CHRIS BURRELL

The fight over the cost of education up-Island took a nasty turn
this week as West Tisbury finance leaders traveled to Chilmark and
pitched their hard-line solution: Pay a bigger share of the school costs
or consider leaving the regional school district.

At issue for West Tisbury finance committee members is the price tag
on operating the Chilmark School, a kindergarten to fifth grade facility
with just 45 students and a per-pupil cost of $19,820.

"The thing that seems fairest to us is if both towns took care
of their own schools, their kids would be supported by their own
taxpayers," said Peter Costas, a vocal member of the West Tisbury
finance committee.

His board has sponsored a proposal at the annual town meeting
calling for withdrawal from the up-Island regional school district.

"Maybe Chilmark would want to do the same thing," Mr.
Costas added.

Hammering hard at their position, the finance team from West Tisbury
argued repeatedly that the cost-sharing formula in the regional school
district puts an unfair burden on West Tisbury taxpayers.

But Chilmark officials - the finance committee and two of its
three selectmen - weren't buying the argument.

"I'm not convinced the formula is unfair. You'll
have to persuade me and a critical mass of the Chilmark voters that
it's unfair," said Doug Sederholm, a member of
Chilmark's finance committee.

"I've looked at some of the numbers and I don't
think they're valid, frankly," he added later in the
meeting. "As I sit here, I don't know what to believe, but I
sure don't believe your numbers."

Chilmark selectman Warren Doty also bristled at the onslaught from
his neighbors to the northeast, saying that he would consider backing a
proposal to take Chilmark out of the three-town school district, which
is made up of Aquinnah, Chilmark and West Tisbury.

"If you push us too hard, that's where we're
going," he said.

The sour mood did not go unnoticed.

Fellow Chilmark selectman Frank Fenner waited almost an hour before
wading into the debate, but when he did, he attempted to ease the
tension.

"What concerns me is that we work through this in a fashion
that doesn't alienate the people to West Tisbury to Chilmark and
vice-versa," he said. "I hope we don't run a rift
through the towns for a few dollars."

His comments seemed to illuminate a critical difference between the
two towns. In West Tisbury, the money's tight.

"I don't want to run a rift through the towns either,
but the amount of money is substantial," said Jim Powell, a member
of the West Tisbury finance committee.

West Tisbury finance committee members said that while Vineyard
school leaders forecasted that it would cost their town $600,000 in one
year if they left the region, their own calculations showed a savings of
about $200,000.

The up-Island district consists of both the Chilmark School and the
West Tisbury School, which runs from kindergarten through eighth grades.
Both schools have seen enrollment fall over the last three years. State
aid cuts and a tuition reimbursement formula - higher than most
communities in the state - paid to the Martha's Vineyard
Charter School have compounded the fiscal pressures on the regional
school district.

Wednesday's meeting was the first time that boards from both
towns have sat down to discuss the controversial issue of shared school
costs, but the session comes less than a month after back-to-back
meetings in the two towns laid the groundwork for a political collision
up-Island.

On March 4, the West Tisbury finance committee, along with the
up-Island regional school committee heard a presentation from school
leaders who had prepared five financial scenarios. Those scenarios
analyzed the fiscal impact if West Tisbury left the school region, if
school choice were abandoned and if the Chilmark School were shut down.

The last scenario caught the attention of West Tisbury finance
committee members because it promised $415,000 in savings to West
Tisbury if the Chilmark School were closed and the students all sent to
the West Tisbury School. In this financial prediction, the three towns
in the district would save a total of $768,216.

West Tisbury leaders emerged from that meeting wanting to put
pressure on Chilmark - not to close their school, but to pay for
it. While West Tisbury selectmen have not taken an official position
about withdrawing from the district, one selectman, Glenn Hearn, stood
up at the Chilmark School on March 4 and issued this statement:
"West Tisbury is paying big numbers to finance this thing.
You've got to think about sucking up those costs."

His comments came during the second half of the March 4
double-header of meetings devoted to up-Island school issues. The
meeting made one thing clear: Chilmark had no intention of closing its
school.

The groundswell of support was more than 80 people strong. A task
force in Chilmark is already working on ways to boost enrollment. A
survey of parents - including ones who have taken children out of
the school or opted to send them to other Island schools - is also
in the works.

This week, Chilmark finance committee chairman Marshall Carroll
asked his counterparts in West Tisbury to be patient.

"We've got a task force working on it. Give us a chance
to straighten it out," he said.

West Tisbury finance committee members have zeroed in on the high
per pupil costs in Chilmark because they drive up the average per-pupil
costs in the region, forcing the district to pay roughly $16,000 for
each student from the region who attends the charter school.

Al DeVito, a West Tisbury finance committee member, pointed out that
per pupil costs in Chilmark are $5,000 higher than in West Tisbury. He
suggested that in the interest of equity, Chilmark should pay $5,000
into a pool for each of its students enrolled in the school.

"The Chilmark School is currently not an efficient
operation," he said.

Mr. Doty objected to the idea, arguing that his town already
shoulders the majority of the Chilmark School budget since the
cost-sharing formula assesses each town based on the number of residents
attending the school.

"Chilmark has the most students in the most expensive site,
and we pay most of the costs," he said.

Mr. Sederholm steered the discussion away from money concerns and
focused on the benefit of an educational alternative in the region.

"I don't believe education is about dollars and
cents," he said. "The Chilmark School provides a unique
option for the children of the district, including West Tisbury.
It's very small ... and gives a sense of community that's
severely lacking at the West Tisbury School."

But Mr. DeVito took aim at that logic, arguing simply that if the
Chilmark School was such an attractive option, enrollment would be
higher. He pointed out that 30 per cent of the children in Chilmark who
could attend their town school go elsewhere, and in Aquinnah, that
figure is even higher, at 60 per cent.

"If the educational value were so universally in demand, more
people from the Island would go there," said Mr. DeVito.
"It's unfortunate that the idea of the Chilmark School
cannot generate enough people to make economic sense, but people have to
be able to afford to live on the Island. It's very hard to do if
taxes keep going up."