As Casey Stengel may have said, “You could look it up.” I have written so many columns about the two school systems — Southern Berkshire and Berkshire Hills — that I have actually forgotten how many.
The question, of course, is whether it is ridiculous to have these two systems sitting side by side without enough students to justify their existence. It’s absolutely scandalous. Talk about a waste of taxpayer money. If there aren’t enough students and it makes no sense and it is a horrible waste of taxpayer money, why are we still doing it?
Well, there are some theories. One contends that many members of the two school boards and those working full time and collecting salaries from the districts just don’t want to give up the salaries and the prestige. Look, these are nice, competent people, but if you’re a school principal or superintendent or even a teacher, why would you want to give up your perks? The consultants have spoken, the state has spoken, and the people have spoken, but those who are invested in the dual system just don’t want to give it up.
Put yourself in the place of a school superintendent or principal. Would you willingly give up your job? The obvious answer is “no,” you would not. In the meantime, the taxpayers and the kids are paying a frightful price. We know that so many students could be getting so much more, especially at the high school level, if the two systems merged. If giving up your prestigious job is really what this all about, one can only wonder where the kids come in.
In addition to wanting to keep your job, there is the basic concept of home rule, but with so few students in the two districts, that really cannot be justified. When we first arrived in the Berkshires some 50 years ago, we were treated to dinner at Alice Pederson’s house. The vehemence of the argument against one instead of two districts was so great you might have thought we were talking about Ukraine.
The Southern Berkshire System seems the most threatened. Now we have news that the Southern District sees a way out. They might be saved since Simon’s Rock College will offer courses to some of their students. Fine, but that really isn’t the answer for a public school system.
There are some real problems to be solved. If the dollars and cents don’t add up, there must be answers. A lot of the discussion involves the building of a new high school that would serve both districts. There are fiscal hawks in both districts who don’t like the idea of paying more in their tax bills. For years, education has ranked at the top of my priority list and, I suspect, yours too. That’s why I was astounded the last time around when so many people I respect were opposed to building a new high school.
In any case, it does not appear that this two-district nonsense is going to be resolved any time soon. I really can’t believe it. Many of our new residents are a bit older now, but they once lived in places where education came first. My hope is that our older newcomers will remember their priorities and how important their kid’s education was before they got here. Somehow, we’ve got to figure this out.
