Citizens Group to Press For Shared School Services
The “C” in SCORE stands for cooperation, not consolidation. So said Patricia Hope and Chuck Hitchcock, the leaders of a new citizens group with an acronym that stands for School Cooperation Regional Effort.
The 10-member group was organized recently to explore ways that school districts in East Hampton Town can share services and find efficiencies. SCORE’s members include former educators and each one has a tie to at least one school district here, whether in East Hampton or one of its sending districts.
Ms. Hope, a retired East Hampton science teacher and former president of its school board, said in an interview Tuesday that SCORE members believe change is possible “if we concentrate on areas that involve each of the districts and topics that would not involve raising taxes, increasing costs, or laying off personnel.”
Ms. Hope and Mr. Hitchcock said the group was starting by focusing on transportation and pre-kindergarten programs. “There’s an uneven distribution of resources in local districts. I think we can all safely agree on that,” Ms. Hope said. “And most suggestions that we’ve heard or read involve huge changes to one district or another, or every district that would be involved.”
“We don’t want to run roughshod on anyone’s home rule,” Ms. Hope said. “We’re like friends of the court. We’re friends of the districts.”
SCORE has met 12 times during the last several months and is preparing a survey to be sent to the East Hampton, Montauk, Springs, Sagaponack, Amagansett, and Wainscott School Districts to collect information. The group will use the data to prepare an application for a New York State grant that could be used to fund a formal study that theoretically could have a ripple effect, saving money for taxpayers.
Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. met this week with SCORE to discuss that grant, which would come from a $150 million fund intended to help municipalities explore ways to share services or consolidate functions. Reached by phone yesterday, Mr. Thiele said SCORE was to be commended for its vision and efforts so far. He called the members proven community leaders.
Given the state cap on tax increases and the fact that school districts on the South Fork are small, Mr. Thiele said SCORE was correct that they could benefit from shared services. “I applaud their efforts to explore this issue,” he said.
A few local school districts already share some services. For instance, students in Wainscott and Sagaponack often take field trips together and share the cost of a bus. In Montauk and other schools, many supplies are obtained through advantageous purchasing agreements with the Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services.
“We would like to see them do more shared services because there are some financial savings to be had, and we feel there are some academic impacts that would be greatly appreciated by the population as a whole,” said Mr. Hitchcock, a Springs resident who is a retired Southampton College dean and former school board president.
Ms. Hope and Mr. Hitchcock acknowledged that there was a hefty workload ahead for SCORE’s volunteers. “For me, education has been my life’s work,” Mr. Hitchcock said. “When I look at East Hampton and see that there are multiple ways that we could improve the services if indeed they were shared over a broader population, and in the same breath improve youngsters’ academic performance, then it seems to me that I will spend this time doing that.”
“If we could have one or two successes,” Ms. Hope said, “that might eventually lead to districts recognizing that it’s going to be better all the way around if they looked toward sharing services that maybe they have not considered sharing.”