Nauset Regionalization, Efficiency Findings To Be Presented

The results of an efficiency and regionalization study will be presented to each of the four towns comprising the Nauset Regional School District next month.

Findings from the study, which focused on the district’s five elementary schools as well as Nauset Regional Middle School, will be presented June 2 in Orleans, June 3 in Wellfleet, June 4 in Brewster and June 8 in Eastham. Presentations will be at 6 p.m. in each town’s respective town hall during a joint meeting between the select board and finance committee.

“Over the past year, representatives from the towns of Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, and Wellfleet, in partnership with Nauset Public School officials, have been engaged in a district-wide study to better understand how to sustain strong schools in the face of declining enrollment, aging facilities and rising costs,” Orleans Town Manager Kim Newman said in a prepared statement during the select board’s May 20 meeting.

The study was funded through state grant funding and contributions from each of the four district towns.

The presentations will go over key data gained from looking at enrollment, programming and facilities and lay out four potential regionalization scenarios “that reflect different ways the district could organize schools, programs and resources,” Newman said. Other “potential efficiency considerations” will also be discussed.

Newman called the completion of the study a “first step” in what will be a years-long planning process to address the schools’ needs. The study does not make any specific recommendations, she said.