How are your allergies this spring? Many people I know have been suffering from the pollen blues—or should I say "yellows" as I have found my white car turns yellow in a matter of hours.
In a letter to the editor, Sharon Gregory writes, "Unification of the two high schools would broaden learning opportunities; streamline required administrative and financial processes; and minimize the effect of antiquated state policies that have resulted in the use of musical chairs (drawing students from other districts), complex “sharing” to address systemic, structural changes in education and demographics shifts."
The Edge recently sat down with Hinds in his Pittsfield office to discuss his proudest accomplishments, how to align workforce development needs with the education system, and his hopes and concerns about the rollout of recreational marijuana in the state, among other things.
Berkshire Hills School Committee member Rich Dohoney said he is approached by South County residents all the time and the most common question he hears is why Berkshire Hills isn't trying to merge with Southern Berkshire.
Massachusetts Association of School Committees executive director Glenn Koocher explained that the ability of a school district's population to fund local education determines how much state aid the district gets from the state.
Officials say the foundation budget is adjusted and increased each year but mostly along the lines of inflation. But several expenses school districts are confronted with increase at a pace that greatly exceeds inflation: health insurance for current employees and retirees; special education, especially out-of-district placements; English language instruction for non-native speakers; preschool; data collection, including how students are counted; and transportation.
Among the issues Amatul-Wadud is raising in her run for Congress are climate change; universal public education; and affordable, high-speed internet access for every resident of the 1st Congressional District.
The driving force behind regional school reform is enrollments, which are dropping at an alarming pace. Berkshire County school districts saw enrollment losses of 22 percent between 2000 and 2015.
Monument Next Steps includes 22 members and will be modeled after the Regional Agreement Amendment Committee, which met several times over the course of the last year in a successful effort to change the district agreement's formula for taxing the district's member towns to pay for its operations and capital expenses.
At its regular meeting Thursday night, the Southern Berkshire Regional School Committee voted to form a subcommittee whose title would be "The Future of Education in Southern Berkshire County."
“When you look at the Berkshires compared to the rest of the state, we're smaller, we're older, we're sicker, we're poorer. We can't keep doing things the way we've been doing it.”
-- State Rep. William ‘Smitty’ Pignatelli, D-Lenox
"It's time we start talking with our neighbors. I'm certainly willing to talk to anyone who wants to talk about moving forward with Berkshire Hills or even Farmington River and Richmond."
-- Egremont Selectboard Chairman Bruce Turner
Berkshire Hills Regional School Committee member Richard Dohoney said the school committee should be focusing on a realistic goal such as sharing services or merging with another nearby school district.
In her letter to the editor, Sharon Gregory writes: “Consolidation would enable the larger entity to negotiate for enhanced vocational-technical training programs, enriched academic curricula options, larger state transportation reimbursements and more effective special education.”
