The word “merger” is misleading. Make no mistake, the new Regional Agreement that is being offered is a blueprint for the total elimination of an educational campus in Sheffield and for the construction of a new high school and the consolidation of all education in Great Barrington.
Let’s stop the chest-pounding as to which school is better or growing faster. Please vote at your town meeting and don't let naysayers prevail. The merger will cast a new direction for the next half-century, after more than a quarter-century of merger studies.
The merger decision can’t be about emotions, egos, or nostalgia. This is about the future of those children who aren’t even here yet – the young and the new.
To quote E.F. Schumacher, “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.”
The Eight Town Regional School District Planning Board is facing a $150,000 budgetary shortfall and would be out of money by October 1, as projected by Project Manager Jake Eberwein at the August 23 board meeting.
School committee member Dennis Sears of Sheffield said voting to pass over the warrant item on funding the district and actually voting against it would be a distinction without a difference. And he suggested a vote on the budget would empower the town.
In a letter to the editor, Roger Kavanagh writes, "As a project manager and team leader, I worked with diverse groups from all organizational levels who often had conflicting agendas."
Graduating seniors have been coming into school, three or four at a time, and walking across the auditorium stage to receive their diplomas. The video footage of the students will be incorporated into a virtual graduation.
Hawver was a commercial banker for 23 years and, after retirement, ran a bed and breakfast in Sheffield with her late husband, Cliff. She now runs her own tax preparation business out of her Park Lane home.
“The idea was to give the community some way to care, which they were aching to do; to give a local establishment some extra business; and to feed families.” - Rev. Erik Karas
School districts are working with a cohort of community partners to address the growing need for support of families with young children during this unexpected break from school.
