To the editor:
My name is Vito Valentini. My family and I are residents of Sheffield. I served on the Southern Berkshire Regional School District (SBRSD) School Committee for eight years, and I am the parent of two recent SBRSD graduates.
I encourage everyone who is a resident of the five towns that comprise SBRSD to attend your town’s special meeting concerning the merger with Berkshire Hills Regional School District (BHRSD).
I oppose this action.
The word “merger” is misleading. Make no mistake, the new Regional Agreement that is being offered is a blueprint for the total elimination of an educational campus in Sheffield and for the construction of a new high school and the consolidation of all education in Great Barrington. This is planned to happen in three steps over the next several years. I shall explain with reference to the new regional agreement.
Step 1 — TO FORM A NEW DISTRICT AND HAVE IT ACQUIRE THE UNENCUMBERED ASSETS OF SBRSD.
Article (I) of the warrant will ask you to approve the formation of a new district to be GOVERNED BY THE NEW AGREEMENT WITH ALL THE PROVISIONS BURIED WITHIN ITS 44 PAGES OF LEGALISE.
Article (I)(1) will ask you to approve to participate in the debt necessary to build a new school in Great Barrington with no firm numbers as to the amount of the obligation—essentially a blank check.
Article (I)(2) will ask you to transfer ownership and control of the SBRSD campus to the new district.
Section VI B1 (page 14 Regional Agreement) SBRSD Legacy Debt: This section states that the SBRSD assets are being conveyed to the new district with the debt to remain with the original five towns.
Step 2 — TURN THE SHEFFIELD CAMPUS INTO A ZOMBIE CAMPUS AND CLAIM GROSS INEFFICIENCIES.
There is measurable inefficiency existing in the combined districts right now. Building a high school in Great Barrington 50 percent larger than the existing school will exacerbate these inefficiencies. The transfer of all high school students to Great Barrington, along with the provisions of IIIB of the Regional Agreement that students shall attend the school in closest proximity to their residence, will most certainly create a spiral of diminishing vitality at the Sheffield campus.
Step 3 — PROCLAIM THE INEFFIENCY AND CLOSE THE CAMPUS.
Section IV and Section IX of the new Regional Agreement both outline procedures for closing schools and amending the agreement. Notable in these provisions is that in neither case is a unanimous vote necessary. The attorney hired by the planning committee noted that not having unanimity was unusual. Simply put, get a three-fourths vote can shut it down.
Finally, over the last three years that this proposal has been discussed and rediscussed, there has been active, specific rejection by the Regional School District Planning Board (RSDPB) to engage in, actively encourage, or facilitate any cooperative educational projects by the two districts. A person might speculate that achieving collaborative success with existing facilities might be counter to the argument for a new expensive high school.
Please show up to your town meeting and join me in rejecting this proposed regional agreement by voting NO on the warrant. A yes vote will not make our district’s programs stronger; it will destroy the Southern Berkshire Regional School District.
Vito Valentini
Sheffield
