"From where I'm standing, it's clear that we don't have enough information. One of the worries everyone has is the community is going to be split on this." --Monument Next Steps member Joshua Shapiro
The devil, however, was in the details, as panelists debated the pros and cons of building a brand-new new school or stripping the old one down to its core, constructing an addition and adding sprinkler systems and new infrastructure.
The Berkshire Hills school committee is expected to vote Thursday night to approve its own spending proposal of $26.2 million. The vote to approve it is almost a foregone conclusion after last week's quiet and harmonious public hearing.
Ironically, it actually cost a lot of money to keep the overall increases down. In order to limit the operating budget increase to 4.21 percent, the school committee had to spend $840,000 from a reserve fund known as excess and deficiency.
If the Berkshire Hills Regional School District could increase the number of towns that are formally members of the district, it could be leveraged to have a significant effect on the reimbursement rate for a potential project from the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
In an incident that garnered much publicity, the Berkshire Hills Regional School Committee in 2004 declined to name after Du Bois one of the two new regional schools it had just built.
A common complaint among employees of the district and their families was that district officials did not adequately consult with faculty and staff about what was needed in terms of design and the accommodation of innovative curriculum, for example.
2018 has provided enough Great Barrington news to keep journalists busy and observers of town politics highly amused, signaling that the community dubbed "best small town in America" by Smithsonian Magazine continues to be a place in transition.
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.
There was not the population for a dedicated vocational school and, over time, the number of programs offered dwindled. Now individual fields will not be stressed so much as the habits of mind and preparation to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances.
The largest incentive (up to 6 additional percentage points) to increase state reimbursement lies in the formation of a new school district as part of the building project. That incentive might resonate with South County residents because of declining enrollments.
This will be the third try since 2013 to get state aid for the ailing high school. BHRSD Superintendent Peter Dillon noted that “constructing a new high school is actually less expensive than renovating and adding to the new building.”
In his letter to the editor, Patrick Hollenbeck writes: “My concern is that both of these demanding leadership positions require tremendous time and energy and are deserving of undivided attention.”
Monument Valley Regional Middle School was selected for the renaming rather than a second try at Muddy Brook Elementary due, in part, to the fact that Du Bois' life is actually taught in the middle school curriculum.
