MA H538

Creates an Office of Shared Services within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to oversee formation of regional school districts and superintendent unions, with a director appointed by the commissioner

Sets minimum grant percentage at 90% for approved school facilities projects in regional school districts and relieves municipalities of school facility debt when schools close due to regionalization

Provides new regional school districts $200 per pupil annually for the first 3 years of operation, plus state aid for temporary administrative staff salaries (assistant superintendent, business manager, IT director, pupil services director) for the first 2 years

Establishes three new grant funds: School District Regionalization Grant Fund (up to $1.5 million over 3 years per district), Regional School District Foundational Aid Fund (to offset losses in state aid for 5 years after regionalization), and Superintendent Union Formation Grant Fund (up to $250,000 annually)

Prioritizes grant funding for districts with significant enrollment decline, underutilized school space, or regionalization proposals that expand academic resources through cost savings; excludes vocational, agricultural, technical, and charter schools from eligibility