Mount Greylock Awarded $50K To Study Further Regionalization

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 WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Mount Greylock Regional High School now has $50,000 to study regionalization.

 The state awarded the district the money to study if the pros and cons of bringing the elementary schools into the district — meaning there would be one school committee and one budget.

"Regionalization can be more advantageous in meeting the future needs of all our students and providing greater continuity in a first-class education system," Superintendent Rose Ellis said in a prepared statement.
 
 The school will now create a planning team consisting of a communications consultant, financial specialist,legal counsel and representatives from the Mount Greylock, Williamstown Elementary and Lanesborough Elementary School Committees. Additionally, representatives from both town's Board of Selectmen and Finance Committees will be part of the team.

The money comes from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

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Williamstown Finance Committee Finalizes Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Proposal

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The tax bill of a median-priced single family home will go up by 8.45 percent in the year that begins July 1 under a spending plan approved by the Finance Committee on Wednesday night.
 
After more than a month of going through all proposed spending by the town and public schools and searching for places to trim the budget and adjust revenue estimates, the Fin Comm voted to send a series of fiscal articles to the May 19 annual town meeting for approval.
 
The panel also discussed how to appeal to town meeting members to reverse what Fin Comm members long have described as an anti-growth sentiment in town that keeps the tax base from expanding.
 
New growth in the tax base is generated by new construction or improvements to property that raise its value. A lack of new growth (the town projects 15 percent less revenue from new growth in fiscal year 2027 than it had in FY26) means that increased spending falls more heavily on current taxpayers.
 
The two largest spending articles on the draft warrant for the May meeting are the appropriations for general government spending and the assessment from the Mount Greylock Regional School District.
 
The former, which includes the Department of Public Works, the Williamstown Police and town hall staffing, is up by just 2.5 percent from the current fiscal year to FY27 — from $10.6 million to $10.9 million.
 
The latter, which pays for Williamstown Elementary School and the town's share of the middle-high school, is up 13.7 percent, from $14.8 million to $16.8 million.
 
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