The vote follows a contentious meeting earlier this month in which the Sheffield members of the school committee had refused to appoint Bruno after interim member Tim Schroepfer had withdrawn his name from consideration.
For a variety of technical reasons, four Sheffield candidates were on the ballot for three seats. But voters were instructed to "vote for not more than two,” and those two with the most support were automatically re-elected.
Earlier in the meeting, there had been other surprises: Sears and Chairperson Bonnie Silvers, both of Sheffield, had been ousted from their leadership positions on the committee. Adding to the committee's woes was that the vote was taken in open session, but by use of a secret ballot -- a clear violation of the state's Open Meeting Laws.
as if time could run backwards at their beckoning;
as if winter could recede from my fingers and the white gate swing wide,
with the fall riot returning to the bracketing treelimbs,
thence to turn verdant and alive, the schoolyard now summer-empty.
"Culture eats strategy for breakfast: If you don’t understand the school culture, you’re not going to be able to change things effectively and in a way that is sustainable." SBRSD elementary school principal Charles Miller
It does appear that a generational challenge is in the offing for the Nov. 6 elections. A flyer distributed throughout the district refers to a "clean slate for SBRSD school committee" and flatly states that "the candidates support the right of all the towns to have their elementary schools."
The Egremont Historical Commission thought it fitting to give the school’s new teacher a piece of 100-year-old chalk found in the walls of the Egremont Village School to start her off.
In a letter to the editor, Richard Allen of Egremont writes, "... it is irrational to devote taxpayer money to keeping open costly and ineffective one-room schoolhouses."
"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
"Once we started doing our work, a clear consensus evolved that the one-district option presented the best opportunities for education and improved financial sustainability for the school districts." --John Hockridge, chair of the Berkshire County Education Task Force
Sixty Egremont residents, the minimum needed for a quorum, raised their pink slips in the cafeteria of Mount Everett Regional High School to cast their votes in favor of the proposed SBRSD budget, thereby ending the town's dispute with the school district -- for the time being.
After meeting separately in closed-door sessions on Monday, the Egremont Board of Selectmen and the regional school committee agreed to a settlement that would suspend operations at the South Egremont School for 2017-18.
"We have a potential settlement agreement. Both parties will be voting on it next week. If both parties agree, we will not go forward with our suit."
-- Bruce Turner, chairman of the Egremont Board of Selectmen
Monterey's "future probably lies in leaving the district," not only because of the town's dissatisfaction with Southern Berkshire but because 46 percent of the town's students are choicing out to other districts anyway.
-- Kenn Basler, chair of Monterey Board of Selectmen
