Voters rejected a proposal to establish the Great River Regional School District, with four out of the six involved towns saying “no” at the polls on Tuesday.
There were just 20 more “no” votes across the six towns — Bernardston, Gill, Leyden, Montague, Northfield and Warwick — than there were “yes” votes. The measure passed overwhelmingly in Gill and Montague, but failed, mostly by large margins, in the other four towns. The Leyden vote count of 106 in favor to 114 opposed proved to be the closest.
The proposal asked voters whether the Pioneer Valley Regional School District, Gill-Montague Regional School District and potentially Warwick Community School should merge to create a Great River Regional School District. The regionalization plan called for no reduction in educators, but consolidation of the central office and reorganization of students. All towns would keep their elementary schools, but middle schoolers would be educated at Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield and high school students would be educated at Turners Falls High School and Great Falls Middle School.
Members of the Six Town Regionalization Planning Board have said the new merged district would have helped address declining enrollment, and “expand academic opportunities, extracurriculars and financial sustainability through a larger combined district,” the board’s website states. The estimated enrollment for the new district across all grade levels would be just under 1,400 students.
Across the six towns, 1,892 (50.26%) voters were against the proposal, and 1,872 (49.73%) were in favor. To have passed, the proposed six-town merger would have needed to pass in all six communities, or a five-town merger could have moved forward in the event that Warwick voted “no,” but the remaining five towns agreed. It was not a simple majority vote.
| Town | Yes Votes | No Votes |
| Bernardston | 187 | 321 |
| Gill | 279 | 107 |
| Leyden | 106 | 114 |
| Montague | 980 | 525 |
| Northfield | 278 | 643 |
| Warwick | 42 | 182 |
| Total | 1,872 | 1,892 |
The Pioneer and Warwick school committees had previously voted not to recommend regionalization, while the Gill-Montague School Committee took no stance.
Greg Snedeker, co-chair of the Six Town Regionalization Planning Board, said on Wednesday that the results were disappointing for the board after all of its work, but he added that the outcome was not unexpected.
“Emotions often run high with regionalization ballot questions,” Snedeker said.
He highlighted that Gill and Montague voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of regionalization.
“We can point to a district that is open and supportive of creating a larger educational community that would support more student opportunities,” Snedeker said. “Pioneer Valley towns voted not in favor, which ultimately leaves these districts facing the same reality and impacts of low and declining enrollment going forward.”
In a statement Tuesday night, Pioneer Superintendent Patricia Kinsella and Pioneer School Committee Chair Melissa Gerry said they were grateful for the outcome.
“The Pioneer Valley Regional School District is profoundly grateful for today’s vote of confidence in our schools. The high level of support shown by residents of all three member towns only deepens our resolve to make Pioneer the very best small and rural school district in Massachusetts,” they wrote. “Tomorrow morning, we will be back at school doing the work that motivates us each and every day: Providing our students with exceptional opportunities in academics, athletics and the arts.”
Warwick School Committee member Diana Noble said the Warwick votes against regionalization did not come as a surprise, adding that she was intrigued and happy with the Pioneer member towns voting against it.
“We’re happy with the work that we’re doing pre-K through 12,” Noble said. “I’d like to think it’s a vote of confidence to keep doing what we’re doing.”
Calling from Warwick Town Hall, Noble said she has heard from other Warwick residents who share her happiness with the results.
“I’m looking forward to being able to move on with the school and the work that we’ve already been doing with our district, and with our partnership with Pioneer,” she continued. “There’s always more to be done in continuing to keep our elementary school the high-quality school that we believe it already is.”
Fellow Warwick School Committee member Adam Holloway felt “a mixture of happiness, elation and relief” upon hearing the results.
“I’m very happy to hear that the town still continues to support our mission to maintain our independent school district,” Holloway said. “We are going to continue to operate our school district and be financially sustainable, and continue to grow in meaningful and impactful ways.”
