Timothy Swaan

I appreciate the opportunity to submit testimony on HB 1644. This bill offers a clearer and more direct process for individual towns to initiate review of withdrawal from a cooperative school district. In situations where governance, cost alignment, or educational needs have diverged, this added local agency may help surface and address long-standing concerns and improve accountability within cooperative structures. At the same time, I urge caution regarding the long-term stability of cooperative districts. Allowing unilateral withdrawal without a meaningful districtwide safeguard may create financial and operational risk for remaining member towns, particularly related to shared debt, special education services, transportation, and staffing. These impacts can be significant and are often borne disproportionately by smaller or less-resourced communities. As the committee considers HB 1644, I encourage careful attention to preserving appropriate guardrails that protect students, ensure fiscal stability for remaining towns, and maintain the collaborative benefits that cooperative school districts were designed to provide. While the bill creates clearer pathways for individual towns to withdraw, it does not provide parallel solutions to address how remaining cooperative districts are expected to absorb and manage the resulting financial and operational impacts. Thank you for your consideration.