MATTAPOISETT – The town is asking residents to weigh in about the possibility of combining local elementary schools.

​​Those schools are the Center School, which houses students K-3, and Old Hammondtown School, which is attended by students in grades 4-6.

This is part of a school consolidation study conducted by The University of Massachusetts Boston Collins School for Public Management, funded by a grant. The study will only provide the town with information and will not determine whether the schools will be combined.

“This study was primarily born from the decline in student enrollment the Mattapoisett Public School District has experienced over the past decade,” said Town Administrator Mike Lorenco in an email. “The Town and District are not alone in facing this demographic trend, and like many other communities, the per pupil expenditure has continued to rise steadily alongside other Town and District priorities competing for scarce resources.”

Town Administrator Mike Lorenco gave updates on the timeline for the study at the most recent Select Board meeting on Oct. 18.

Through November, the study is in the collection and research phase of the project, which includes public outreach. Through Nov. 11, Mattapoisett residents are invited to share their feedback in an online survey, posted at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MattapoisettSchoolConsolidationSurvey.

On Nov. 2, at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., the Collins Center will host two public engagement sessions. These facilitated events will last two hours, and participants will be expected to actively engage in the discussion.

The 10 a.m. session will take place at the Knights of Columbus building at 57 Fairhaven Road, and the 6 p.m. sessions will be located in the Old Rochester Regional High School Cafeteria at 133 Marion Road.

To register for one of these sessions, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MattapoisettPreregistration.

These links can also be found on the town’s website.

For any questions about the survey, contact heather.michaud@umb.edu.

The Collins Center plans to present their findings in February and put together a final draft in March, completing the project by the time the grant ends in April.

“It’s been a lot of work to get here,” Lorenco said.