AMHERST – The lack of public demand ultimately jettisoned a proposal to fully merge Amherst and Pelham public school systems, according to a recently released 89-page report.
The panel tasked with the failed merger — the Amherst and Pelham Regional School District Planning Board — was formed in 2017, convened 40 meetings and issued its report on Sept. 6.
The panel reported its forums “were sparsely attended, although information was distributed through all the schools, newspaper articles, on posters in public places, and on Amherst Media. General public response ranged from ambivalence, to not wanting regionalization.”
Amherst School Committee member Peter Demling, who chaired the panel, said Thursday that although the effort ended up coming to naught, stronger relations were built and a greater understanding of the issue were all for the good.
“It was a great experience of collaboration between the two towns,” Demling said. “If there are opportunities to work together in the future, positive groundwork has been laid.”
The idea was to create a regional kindergarten through grade six system of the Pelham and Amherst school districts, that are currently governed by school committees in the two municipalities.
Grades 7 through 12 in the towns already form a regional system, governed by Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee. Leverett and Shutesbury also comprise the regional junior and senior high school district.
The report’s executive summary says that there was “not enough financial and educational benefit to both Towns to justify the level of change; and not enough support expressed from town officials and the public to move forward.”
The school planning board’s Amherst and Pelham members had voted unanimously against the merger in May, saying at the time they would be issuing a comprehensive report to explain the decision.