Trump and Hegseth and their supporters will do everything in their power to hide the cost of war. But like it or not, this is our war. These are our leaders. It is our tax money that has bought the bombs.
Representatives from Stockbridge, West Stockbridge and Great Barrington, along with school committee members, were finally able to hash out something that could ease some of Great Barrington’s financial burden.
After Great Barrington voters shot down a Monument Mountain Regional High School renovation project two years in a row , a Regional Agreement Amendment Committee formed to get the three towns to the negotiating table to try to change the per-pupil funding arrangement.
The towns will pay for future improvements or building projects for the district’s three schools based on what the state calls “equalized value [EQV],” defined as the “full and fair cash value” of all taxable property in a town.
Whether or not the town's school allocation passes this time, Great Barrington will still be obligated to pay a $14.5 million share of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District budget.
In his letter to the editor, Chip Elitzer writes: “A Massachusetts Education Finance Reform bill that would fix dysfunctional aspects of current laws and put all of the Commonwealth's regional school districts on a sounder financial footing.”
In a letter to the editor, Chip Elitzer of Great Barrington writes: “I urge GB residents to attend the Select Board meeting on Wednesday, May 18, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.”
In a letter to the editor, Great Barrington resident Bobby Houston writes: “In the big picture, continuous tax increases harm the local economy. Surrounding towns all emerge as tax havens from GB.”
At the last discussion, in which some parties were demonstrably rancorous, it became clear that changing an agreement that has each town paying for schools based on the number of students it sends was not going to be easy.
Someone on one side of the Stockbridge/Great Barrington property line should not be paying more than someone on the other side, no matter how many kids are involved, according to Great Barrington resident Chip Elitzer.
“The reality is all this is an opportunity to request and shift tax burden from Great Barrington to the other two towns...and if that’s what’s its about, and if facts are what they are....it’s never gonna fly... I don’t see how we can change the rules. It would be cheaper for Stockbridge to get out [of the district].”
-- Fred Rutberg of Stockbridge
In her letter to the editor Sharon Gregory of Great Barrington writes: "Equitable education funding across towns should be a presiding principle. We are part of a regional economy."
