MSBA Reimbursement Issue Remains Unresolved

By Linda Brenckle

In a letter dated February 18^th, Ms. Jean Kitchen, Southborough’s Town Manager, notified Superintendent Dr. Charles Gobron that the Southborough Board of Selectmen have unanimously agreed not to put the Northborough-Southborough Regional School Committee’s proposed compromise regarding the Algonquin Massachusetts School Building Authority’s (MSBA) reimbursement on the 2010 Town Meeting warrant. The Regional School Committee originally proposed the compromise in September 2008.  Southborough residents voted it down in 2009.

At issue, is a 1.5 million dollar reimbursement from the MSBA, spread over 20 years, and divided each year between Northborough and Southborough.  1.5 million divided by 20 years equals $75,000 per year.  Two different methods for determining how to divide the funds fairly have been proposed:  Northborough prefers to use the formula in MGL Chapter 70B, which figures income, property values, and community poverty into the formula.  Southborough, on the other hand, prefers to use the regional agreement made before construction began, which bases the calculation on a four-year rolling enrollment average.  The Regional School Committee’s compromise divided the difference that resulted from calculating using both methods.

At the Regional School Committee meeting on Wednesday night, committee members learned of Ms. Kitchen’s letter.  Committee member, Mr. Jack Kessler discussed committee response,  “It’s too late now, there isn’t anything we can do, the warrants are closed, we can’t do a citizen’ petition even if we want to do a citizen’s petition.  It’s too late to engage in conversation with the (Southborough) Board of Selectmen.”  Southborough selectman, Mr. William Boland explained the basis for their decision, “The Board of Selectmen felt overwhelmingly that due to how overwhelming the rejection of the warrant article was last year, it made no sense to go forward with it.”

Northborough Selectman, Ms. Leslie Rutan, commented on the news,  “I am disappointed to hear that the MSBA reimbursement issue is not going to be on the Southborough warrant, we had our selectmen meeting on Monday night and we do, indeed, have a place on our warrant to go for a declaratory judgment, but I believe we were assuming, at the time, that it would at least be on the (Southborough) warrant, but would not know whether or not it would pass.”  A declaratory judgment is defined as, “a judgment of a court which determines the rights of parties without ordering anything be done or awarding damages.”  Ms. Rutan did not say what Northborough’s response to this news would be.