Stockbridge — The wheels have been put in motion for another try at getting the state to partially fund a major capital project to fix what ails Monument Mountain Regional High School.
With near unanimity and little discussion, the Berkshire Hills Regional School Committee voted March 29 to authorize Superintendent Peter Dillon to submit a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

Dillon emphasized that the document, once submitted, will not obligate the district to anything. Click here to see the resolution and click here to see some common FAQs concerning statements of interest.
Berkshire Hills’ director of operations Steven Soule will once again assess the condition of the school and draft the statement, which will explain a number of deficiencies including “building condition, access, health and safety, as well as deficiencies for instructional programs, especially science and career and technical facilities.”
See video below of the school committee during its March 29 meeting approving the drafting of a statement of interest and discussing other business, including two ongoing principal searches, school safety and the superintendent’s contract:
This will be the third try since 2013 to get state aid for the ailing high school. Within the span of one year, a pair of $50 million-plus proposals failed when Great Barrington, by far the largest of the three towns in the district, failed to approve an override to Proposition 2½, a state statute that limits tax levy increases.
Both proposals were marketed as attempts to “Renovate Monument” on the same footprint despite price tags that more resembled a new school. The other two towns in the district, Stockbridge and West Stockbridge, voted overwhelmingly to approve the projects.
The only school committee member to vote against the motion was Great Barrington’s Bill Fields, who has been one of the most outspoken members advocating for the need to do something about the high school. Asked why he voted no, Fields referred The Edge to an email he sent over the weekend to Eileen Mooney of the NEWSletter.
Fields said he was concerned about having to comply with MSBA regulations in order to receive money. “Accepting their money in any amount means we will have to abide by their regulations as to class size requirements, student per space, etc.,” he said. The first project, which totaled just under $56 million, would have been reimbursed by the MSBA to the tune of 48.5 percent.

But when it approves a grant request through its Core Program, the MSBA typically requires that school districts adhere to its building and design standards and it insists that a school district’s contractors be certified by the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance and also pay prevailing wage. Those factors can add considerably to the expense of the project, leading some to wonder whether the state aid is worth the added expense.
“I also feel it is a total waste of our time since two proposals were voted down and we actually think we will be added to MSBA’s list of schools needing assistance,” Fields said of the SOI. “It took Central Berkshire over ten years to even get on their list once. And we think we will get on their list for the third time within ten years — pipe dream!!”
It took several years for Berkshire Hills to get MSBA approval for the Monument project. After the first one was rejected, the school committee received an extension allowing it to trim about $4 million from the proposal while maintaining most of its essential features. Click here to see the revised plan from 2014 and how it differed from the one in 2013.
In a Dec. 13, 2013, letter to Dillon, the MSBA said that, if the district determines that a different project from the one previously accepted by the authority will be sent to voters, then the district will essentially have to start the MSBA building aid process all over again.

And that is precisely what is happening now. The second, scaled-back proposal was defeated again in Great Barrington a year later. The school committee has decided to submit a different SOI and start the process anew.
Former Berkshire Hills Building Committee Chairman Richard Coons has said securing MSBA funding for a different project could take anywhere from five to seven years. According to the MSBA, there is no limit to the number of SOIs a school district can submit.
In October, the school committee voted to form a panel to look into the process, the needs of the high school, and how best to proceed – so Monument Next Steps was born.
At that time, the sentiment was that sending a SOI to the MSBA should be done no matter which funding method was ultimately approved. School committee member Rich Dohoney even characterized it as a potential “placeholder.”
And of course, there has been a lot of movement in South County about the possible merger of school districts, especially between Berkshire Hills and Southern Berkshire. This has led some to question whether it makes a lot of sense to invest tens of millions of dollars in Monument when the configuration of South County school districts might look a lot different in 10 years. But Berkshire Hills officials have said those talks are more about merging districts and sharing services than in merging buildings or closing them.
At Thursday’s meeting, the school committee also approved the composition of Monument Next Steps. James Santos, Rebecca Gold and Paul Gibbons will be the citizen representatives from Great Barrington.
Former school committee member Rich Bradway of Stockbridge, and Roger Kavanagh and Sarah Culmer of West Stockbridge were also named. That still leaves two vacancies in Stockbridge and one vacancy in West Stockbridge.
Great Barrington Finance Committee member Walter “Buddy” Atwood III and Great Barrington Selectman Dan Bailly were added. The selectmen and finance committees from Stockbridge and West Stockbridge have not yet appointed anyone.
The school committee also wanted an at-large member who had an expertise in construction and/or design. Fred Clark of Great Barrington has agreed to serve. Clark is a former Berkshire Hills Regional School Committee member and works in Albany as an architect for the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.
Another group focused on consolidation and efficiencies, Southern Berkshire Educational Future, has booked popular and flamboyant education consultant Willard R. “Bill” Daggett, who will speak Tuesday, April 24, at 6 p.m. at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public.