Berkshire Hills Regional School District — On Tuesday, November 5, voters in Great Barrington, Stockbridge, and West Stockbridge approved by an overwhelming majority the Berkshire Hills Regional School District’s plans to go forward with constructing a new high school building.
The total cost to construct the new Monument Mountain Regional High School building is estimated at $152,067,064.
As planned by the school district, the Massachusetts School Building Association is covering $61 million of the total cost, and the state’s MassSave program would be contributing $1.6 million in energy incentives. According to district officials, the estimated total cost to taxpayers for the school building project will be $89,457,399.
The cumulative vote of all three towns for Question One, the ballot question to approve funding for the building project, was 2,736 in favor to 774 opposed.
For Question Two, the ballot question to approve a town-specific debt exclusion that would allow for the funding of the high school building, the vote was 2,605 to 894.
A detailed tally of the votes for all three towns in the school district can be found here.
Over the years, there have been various plans to either renovate Monument Mountain or build a new building to take its place. In both 2013 and 2014, multi-million dollar plans to renovate the high school were defeated for various reasons. During special town meetings back in late October 2023, a potential school district merger between eight Berkshire County towns was voted down. A project to construct a new high school building to replace Monument Mountain was included in the potential merger.
In December 2024, members of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District’s Building Committee voted to pursue the construction of a new building.
The current Monument Mountain Regional High School building was constructed in 1966, and through various interviews and statements since December 2024, school officials have stated that any renovation project would not address current problems with the building, including various safety and accessibility issues.
On November 4, members of the school district and residents came together at Barrington Brewery for a watch party as voting results for all three towns were announced.
Berkshire Hills Regional School District Superintendent Peter Dillon gives a speech after residents approved the school building project:
“I really would like to thank the residents and voters of Great Barrington, Stockbridge, and West Stockbridge for committing to invest in our collective future,” Superintendent of Schools Peter Dillon said in a speech after voting results approving the project were announced. “I’d like to thank the building and school committees, my colleagues in the district, our architects and designers, and the many dozens of volunteers who demonstrated leadership, served on subcommittees, and attended dozens of meetings over the past three years. I’d like to thank the MSBA for their support, guidance, and patience. Collectively, we worked hard to earn the community’s trust, and we’re so happy with the outcome. Most of all, we’re thrilled to share this news with the students who inform and inspire our work. We’re so excited to create spaces to enhance and improve their learning opportunities and environment. We look forward to continuing to engage the community and moving forward.”
“[This vote] is a show of support from all of you,” School Committee Chair Steve Bannon said in a speech at the watch party. “This project is going to go forward. The students [in the district] now, and [future] generations, are going to have a beautiful building. Thanks to everyone in this room and in our community.”
In an interview with The Berkshire Edge after the election results were announced, Dillon said he “could not be happier” with the results. “I’m really appreciative that the community stepped up,” he said. “I’m very excited about the opportunities the new building will afford students, staff, and the community. This vote is a clear statement of support by the voters.”
When asked what drew such overwhelming support for the building project this time around, especially in consideration of the past failures in getting voter support for high school building renovation projects and a school district merger, Dillon said, “I think we did a much better job of answering unanswered questions this time around.”
“We articulated a compelling educational vision and a need,” Dillon said. “I think we owe a lot to community volunteers who work tirelessly to get the word out. I think we also did a nice job of community engagement and held dozens of meetings, some for as few as five people, and some for hundreds of people, and I think each one of those meetings mattered.”
A school committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 6, at 6 p.m., at the school district’s office at 50 Main Street in Stockbridge and via Zoom.
Dillon said committee members will discuss the vote “a little bit in passing” at Thursday’s meeting. “The next step is to have the architects and designers do more detailed design along the lines of the MSBA process,” he said. “But for a minute, we’re going to catch our breath and just be really appreciative of the level of community support. I really appreciate that they trusted us to move forward, and we’ll continue to earn their trust throughout this process.”
As per plans presented by the school district, the building is scheduled to be ready for use by the 2029–30 school year.
