Great Barrington — At the top of a four-hour budget review meeting, held by both the Selectboard and the Finance Committee on Tuesday, February 18, was a discussion of the proposed fiscal 2026 budget for Berkshire Hills Regional School District.
The school district, which serves Great Barrington, Stockbridge, and West Stockbridge, has proposed a fiscal 2026 budget of $37.5 million, a $2.42 million (6.89 percent) increase from this fiscal year. The proposed budget includes Great Barrington’s assessment of $22.4 million, a $1.36 million (6.44 percent) increase from this fiscal year. The proposed assessment for Stockbridge is $4.12 million, an increase of $255,900 (6.62 percent) from this fiscal year, and West Stockbridge’s proposed assessment is $3.58 million, a $74,818 (2.05 decrease) from this fiscal year.
At the February 18 meeting, Finance Committee member Milena Cerna questioned the funding formula the district uses for both school-choice and tuition-based students. According to the school district’s budget documents, as of October 1, 2024, there are a total of 65 students tuitioned into the school district and 255 school-choice students. “I look at the cost per student that [Great Barrington] spends in our district, and it’s about $28,000,” Cerna said. “But we take in tuition [from other towns for school-choice and tuition-based students] which is a fraction of that.”
Superintendent of Schools Peter Dillon responded that the school district has school-choice and tuition agreements with Richmond Consolidated School District and the Farmington River Regional School District.
“Based on the numbers, our school district is providing [towns with choice and tuition students] a subsidy between $7 to $8 million,” Cerna said. “I think you guys are trying to do everything possible to keep the education level and the quality of it. It’s not always easy, but the bottom line is that we are carrying this huge number that will continue going forward. I don’t understand why we are getting tuition from [the towns] which is basically half of what it costs us.”
Cerna asked Dillon if the tuition received from towns sending students to the school district could be renegotiated.
“Richmond kids come to us in ninth through 12th grade, and there’s one rate,” Dillon responded. “Otis and Sandisfield kids come to us in seventh grade. There’s a rate for seventh and eighth grade, and there’s a slightly higher rate for high school. When I got here 16 years ago, there were existing contracts. We’ve made significant progress on the rates, but we have a ways to go.”
Dillon said that since he started at the school district, the amount charged to the towns for out-of-district students has “gone up quite significantly.” “But what [Cerna] is getting at is the gap between what we are paying and what we are charging the towns, which is significant,” Dillon said. “In negotiating those agreements [with towns], the tension or fear was that if we went from where we were to a full amount too quickly, then sending towns would walk away. It’s better to get something than nothing from the sending towns. With that being said, I think there’s pressure on us for the next time we negotiate the agreements to continue to push them for an increase.”
“But I have to say this, Peter, every time we get a [choice or tuition] student in, it costs Great Barrington, Stockbridge, and West Stockbridge taxpayers about $10,000 per student,” Cerna said.
“The cost per student is significant, but in almost all cases, if we have a class with one section of 12 students, we need a teacher,” Dillon said. “[We can] pick up four or six more students from either choice or tuition. The metaphor I often use, and it’ll make some people crazy, but it’s like empty seats on an airplane. It’s better to generate revenue than to leave the seats empty.”
Dillon said that he agrees with Cerna that the school district should renegotiate with towns outside of the school district for higher payments for choice and tuition-based students.
However, Cerna warned Dillon that taxpayers may not support the school district’s proposed budget. “I think that it will be hard to convince [residents] that it’s OK for us to pay more for our students and let other towns come here just because we need to fill the classrooms,” Cerna said.
Later on in the meaning, Finance Committee Chair Philip Orenstein asked how the school district would deal with potential reductions in federal funding.
“The federal landscape is challenging and bizarre right now,” Dillon said. “Every day there’s another executive order or complex memo.”
However, Dillon said that the federal funds the district receives for special education, Title I funding which supports students in poverty, and funding the school district receives for its meal programs are all “fairly secure.” “I’m nervous, but I’m also hopeful,” Dillon said. “I hope it lands well, but we’ll know more in the coming months.”
Selectboard member Eric Gabriel asked Dillon if there were any budget items the school district could hold off on for one more year “in order to avoid this Proposition 2½ override we’re looking at.”
“The headache is that around 80 percent of our budget is tied up in [staff] and benefits,” Dillon said. “There are not enough paper clips in the world for me to reduce to help you avoid the tax levy thing.”
Previous coverage from The Berkshire Edge on the Berkshire Hills Regional School District fiscal 2026 budget:
February 12: “Interim Town Manager Rembold: Great Barrington looking at Proposition 2½ override and tough decisions for fiscal 2026 budget.”
February 13: “Berkshire Hills Regional School District proposes increases and layoffs for fiscal 2026 budget.”
