The Six Town Regionalization Planning Board is comprised of members representing the towns of Bernardston, Gill, Leyden, Montague, Northfield, and Warwick. The underlying task of the board’s study was to explore potential opportunities to expand present learning activities and project learning designs, by offering a robust curriculum for all High School and Middle School students attending the Pioneer Valley Regional School District (PVRSD) and the Gill-Montague Regional School District (GMRSD) in a manner that is both affordable and sustainable. The Six Town Regionalization Planning Board was formed under the provisions of Chapter 71, Section 14A and 14B whereby two or more towns may join together to form a Regional School District Planning Board. The Planning Board finished its comprehensive study in January 2024 and recommended that a district agreement should be drafted.

Membership

Bernardston - Jennifer Coffin, Renee Keir, Kristie Sulda 
Gill - Deb Loomer, Bill Tomb, Greg Snedeker (Vice-Chair)
Leyden - Steve Richter, Michele Giarusso, Karen O’Neil
Montague - Dorinda Bell-Upp, Clifford Spatcher
Northfield - Deb Potee, Reina Dastous, Pat Shearer
Warwick - Alan Genovese (Chair), David Young

District Regional Agreement Subcommittee Members

In March 2024, the Mars Consulting Group was awarded a contract to develop a draft regional agreement. The District Regional Agreement Subcommittee (DRAS) was formed to review the consultant’s work. This process will occur during 2024 and 2025. At this point a final draft will be brought to a town meeting in each member town.

Bernardston - Jane Dutcher, Stephen Nestanpower
Gill - Tupper Brown, Greg Snedeker
Leyden - Katherine DiMatteo, Michelle Giarusso (Chair), Ginger Robinson
Montague - Dorinda Bell-Upp, Matt Lord
Northfield - Chris Hinkle (Vice-Chair), Deborah Potee
Warwick - Jessica Foote, Alan Genovese
Erving - Jacquelyn Boyden, Jennifer Eichorn (Non-voting  Members)

Consultants

Consultant reports are available on the Committee REPORTS page.

Mary Broderick Ed.D. – Mary served as a facilitator, engaging parents, students, community members and staff in discussions about regionalization. She published two reports based on this data (see the committee reports page for past reports).

Abrahams Group – Mark D. Abrahams, CPA is an independent consultant who teaches, writes, and consults on governmental financial, operational and performance management. The Abrahams group aided the Planning Board by developing reports about the financial feasibility of combining regions. This included running scenarios around different health care options and different assessment methodologies (see the committee reports page for past reports). theabrahamsgroup.com

The MARS Consulting Group - The Massachusetts Association of Regional Schools (MARS) Consulting Group is comprised of former superintendents who have spent most of their careers in regional school districts and who have been successfully involved in establishing and amending regional agreements. The MARS consulting group aided the Planning Board in developing reports about the educational and financial feasibility of combining regions. They are now creating the draft regionalization agreement, which will be finalized in 2025 (see the committee REPORTS page for past reports). massassociationregionalschools.org