Great Barrington — At a public hearing held at W.E.B. Du Bois Middle School on Thursday, February 27, residents and staff members of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District spoke out against the district’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026.
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.
As part of the budget, Superintendent Peter Dillon has proposed some staff layoffs in the district.
The district originally planned to lay off a third grade staff member by eliminating one of the school’s four sections of third-grade classes. “Since our initial recommendations and after some deliberation with the administrators, I’m now recommending that we retain the third grade position and not invest in a new reading curriculum at this time,” Dillon said at the beginning of the February 27 hearing. “I’m now recommending the elimination of the high school assistant principal position for CVTE [Career Vocational Technical Education].”
Dillon said that the district still plans to eliminate various stipends at Du Bois Middle School.
At Monument Mountain High School, Dillon said that the district plans on not filling an English teacher’s position and a computer teacher’s position once the current teachers retire at the end of the school year.
Dillon said that the school district also plans on eliminating other positions at the high school, including a computer design teacher, a math teacher, a physical education teacher, and a half-time French teacher position.
At the school district level, Dillon said that he is recommending eliminating the certified occupational therapy assistant and the Educational Team Lead positions.
Dillon said that the district would continue to work on additional reductions, but “most are likely not personnel related.” “Nobody wants to make any cuts, [but] it’s been a very difficult year, and this is a very difficult situation,” Dillon said. “[Business Administrator Sharon Harrison] and I have been working diligently on this budget since August, and I’ve worked with the explicit goal of creating the least amount of negative impact on students. District costs, as I think you all know, are rising due to increases in health insurance, salaries and benefits, transportation, utilities, and special education costs.”
Dillon said that if the school district’s budget remained the same as this fiscal year without any cuts, the proposed overall increase for fiscal 2026 would have been 12 percent.
During the hearing, members of the public, including school district staff members, spoke against the proposed school budget, starting with Great Barrington resident Charles Williamson. “We are drowning in red ink with school choice,” Williamson said. “These are [Superintendent] Dillon’s numbers: We have 255 students, which we pay $20,000 [each] to make up the difference to teach them—that’s over $5 million. We have 65 tuition students for which we pay $14,000 [each], which totals over $900,000. So that’s over 320 students [from outside of the school district] that we have, and that’s over $6 million of which Great Barrington pays roughly 70 percent. Don’t you think when we have these people coming to our schools, they should be paying us?”
Williamson complained that, due to the financial methodology used for out-of-district students, property taxes in Great Barrington have risen. “The taxes in Great Barrington have gone up 12.2 percent,” he said. “You are driving the local people out. I retired 20 years ago, and I can’t keep up with the inflation rate. We should get money for these kids that are coming to our schools, not getting $5,000 [per student] from the state who hasn’t done a damn thing in over 60 years but sit on their asses.”
Monument Mountain Regional High School Physical Education teacher Michelle Campbell, whose position would be eliminated under the proposed fiscal 2026 budget, spoke out against her position being eliminated. “When I started at the high school 18 years ago, I was challenged to rebuild the [physical education] and wellness department,” Campbell said. “At the time, budget cuts had led to large, mixed-level classes that were not developed, and there was no health education taught at the school. Over the years, we’ve worked to restructure the program, ensuring each class is grade specific and that all students receive structured instruction in both physical education and health. As a result, we have been compliant with the state requirements for health and physical education in grades nine through 12 for the last few years.”
Campbell argued that eliminating the position would undo the progress the district has made with its physical education and health curriculum. “This will potentially return us to the situation that I encountered years ago when I first arrived, where students lacked the quality education that they deserve,” Campbell said. “Physical Education is more than just physical activity. It’s a structured, inclusive program designed to meet the needs of our students, regardless of their athletic ability. Every student at Monument takes this course over the four years. It is an essential part of our well-rounded education that directly impacts students’ physical health, mental well-being, and academic success. It provides a safe, welcoming environment where all students can engage in lifelong learning activities that benefit their health and wellness well into adulthood. Cutting this position would directly limit students’ access to these opportunities.”
Towards the end of the hearing, school committee member and Finance Subcommittee Chair Richard Dohoney requested Dillon make further cuts out of concern that Great Barrington is looking at a Proposition 2½ override to pass its fiscal 2026 budget.
Doherty made a motion calling for $200,000 in gross cuts to the fiscal 2026 school district budget “understanding that it doesn’t result in a $200,000 benefit to Great Barrington, but a $200,000 reduction would still allow us to meet the needs of our students.” “We all represent three towns and all three towns are partners in this organization,” Doherty said. “But the town of Great Barrington is perilously close to going over its levy limit. This is a unique situation, and it is not a question of simply passing the budget at a town meeting. I don’t think we can make any decisions on a gross [budget] number until we fully wrap our heads around the impact our budget will have on potentially pushing Great Barrington over its levy limit.”
The board unanimously passed the motion.
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 6, at 6 p.m., with a discussion and possible vote on the fiscal 2026 budget listed as items on the meeting’s agenda.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified the physical education teacher.
