As part of a four-pronged exploration of "different administrative organizational models," interim Superintendent Joe Connelly has begun researching the possibility of Harvard sharing certain administrative positions, and thereby the cost of those positions, with one or more nearby school districts.

Connelly shared with the School Committee Monday night a flowchart that highlighted administrative positions in the district that could conceivably be shared and a "sample calculation" that outlined a hypothetical sharing arrangement with Boxborough.

"I think it's very important before we start these conversations that we know exactly where we stand on these cost-shared issues," Connelly told the board. "…Boxborough has not seen this. This is just my sharing with the School Committee what it might look like."

Connelly said he has scheduled a "very introductory" meeting with the Boxborough superintendent to discuss the possibility of a "school union." Harvard has had similar discussions with Boxborough in the past, Connelly told the Press.

"This is just to rekindle a conversation," Connelly said.

At the behest of the School Committee, Connelly said, he will be contacting several other area districts for similar conversations.

"This is more or less how a union discussion would start," he said.

Since Boxborough sends its middle- and high school-age students to the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Connelly's hypothetical union between Harvard and Boxborough was only at the elementary level. According to the sample calculation he offered the School Committee, Boxborough and Harvard would share a superintendent and central office staff, a special education director and administrative assistant, and out of district special education coordinator, a facilities director, and non-salary costs, essentially the cost of maintaining the central office building.

Connelly adjusted his calculations by the percentage of the elementary population in each town.

The positions tabbed by Connelly as sharable are all system-wide.

"Typically you share the cost of your administrative operation," he told the Press. "Every member town retains its own identity."

Connelly noted that sharing arrangements like this are common in western Massachusetts and elsewhere.

"All of New Hampshire is made up of unions, and there are many in this area also," he said.

For 13 years, Connelly said, he was superintendent of the Tri-Town School Union, made up of Boxford, Middleton, and Topsfield. As such, Connelly said, he had to prepare three budgets each year and meet with three school committees.

Connelly said Monday night there can be inefficiencies in a school union, but "If both systems are doing similar things at the same time, if the agendas are quite similar from week to week, it's not as much added work for the personnel, so it can be managed."

The School Committee agreed to allow Connelly to continue exploring the school union idea. Chairman Keith Cheveralls said he was comfortable with Connelly using the information he presented Monday to "open a dialogue with Boxborough and other towns on a purely exploratory basis."

School Committee member Piali De said, "I love it that you're looking at it across the board as opposed to just the superintendent, because I never thought that would work."

Connelly was hired as interim superintendent last spring. Over the summer, the School Committee charged him with investigating four different administrative organizational models. The school union model was one; the current model, with a strong superintendent and separate building principals, is another. The other two models are a part-time superintendent and a superintendent who would also serve as a building principal.

"[The School Committee is] taking the position that Harvard is a very small school system and perhaps other models would be more appropriate for Harvard," Connelly told the Press.

Connelly said he is exploring the four options over the next three months and will be reporting on all of them to the School Committee.