Officials try team building
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

It was a series of team building activities for the joint group of board members from the towns and the regional school district on Tuesday night at Mount Wachusett Community College.

More than 20 members of the Ashburnham Westminster Regional School Committee, the Ashburnham Board of Selectmen and Advisory Board, and the Westminster Board of Selectmen and Advisory Boards met in the tri-board fashion developed a couple of years ago between the five boards.

"Tonight we don't have to agree, we just have agree to support," was the advice from the facilitator of the meeting, Michael Greenwood, a MWCC professor and Westminster resident.

The group was divided into three "teams" that have to determine things from trying to determine what is needed in a life-raft, to defining the purpose and the goals of the tri-board, which was developed a couple of years ago, and determining what issues need to be discussed by the group during this upcoming budget process.

One of the common themes for the three groups was to create an understanding between both the goals of the school district and the two towns, and to make sure there is a trust factor between the different officials.

Westminster Selectman John Fairbanks shared with the group that in some parts of the world people "won't do business with you unless you are their friend. … I see that as the point of this."

Some of the groups discussed more specific issues, such as better discussion on issues such as contract negotiations, avoiding the appearance of selfishness, and creating a smooth process.

Ashburnham Advisory Board member Bill Johnson said he thinks there needs to be a discussion about long-term issues such as the sustainability of different growth issues.

There were also a variety of discussions about increasing the school committee members knowledge on the issues facing each of the towns.

The group will meet again after the New Year to discuss the issues that the group determined where important this time. But there was no specific date set.