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Dozens of residents voiced opposition to the proposal to close the program.

Plan To End Lanesborough Preschool Faces Resistance

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Selectman Robert Barton proposed bringing warrant articles to the voters calling for a total of $90,000 to save the preschool program and split the kindergarten class into two.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — A proposal to eliminate the preschool program at the Elementary School faced fierce opposition Monday night when school officials presented their proposed budget.

Superintendent Rose Ellis said some 20 families indicated interest at a recent screening in sending their children to the preschool but only five enrolled. After years of running a deficit in that program, school officials decided to eliminate it.

"We assessed the situation and we did not have students requiring the program," she said.

But Town Hall was crowded with residents again fighting to keep the program. Selectman Robert Barton, who sits on the town's early education committee, joined the chorus of parents and others in suggesting that the town set money aside in the operating budget to subsidize the program. The school has a deficit of $27,000 from last year's program, according to Ellis.

"It's not that we don't have the kids. It's that the percentage of those kids are not enrolling," Barton said, claiming that the lack of midday bus transportation is driving parents to enroll their youngsters in other programs.

Barton looked at Lenox and Williamstown programs and found that those schools offer multiple options — from morning programs to afternoon with busing in between. Additionally, those schools offer tuition help for low-income families and discounted food. Enrollment is rising at those two schools, he said.

Lanesborough, where those options are not available, enrollment is declining.

He suggested letting voters decide whether to allocate some $30,000 to subsidize a flexible pre-K program run by a private entity or by the school.

Dozens of parents spoke in favor of early education, saying it has an impact on a child's entire educational career.

"We're still very concerned. We're concerned with the elimination of the preschool program," said preschool teacher and Lanesborough Education Association member Stacy Parsons.

This is the second consecutive year that parents fought to keep the program open.

Additionally, the school budget calls for only one kindergarten class, which parents pleaded to have split into two. Barton called for additional expenditures of about $60,000 to make that happen.



"The kids are our future," said resident Eric Shelsy said. "We have to find the money somewhere, somehow."

According to Ellis, kindergarten has 25 children enrolled and possibly five others looking to tuition into the school. The budget calls for one class but with an additional part-time teacher to help with core subjects in the morning — thus splitting the class during those key lessons.

"We are certainly concerned about our kindergarten and we've been keeping an eye on that," Ellis said.

Overall, the school budget is proposed at about $2.8 million, with $2.5 million coming from town coffers. The budget is a "work in progress" before the April 24 public hearing.

The budget includes replacing English textbooks, expanding the technology coordinator position to full time, expanding the orchestra class, adding a Shakespeare course and paying for the preschool deficit.

The preschool teacher would be reassigned to a special education position, which will be vacant because of a retirement. The librarian and special education secretary would see reduced hours.

The school also faced a loss of tuition from Williamstown students, who had attended the school the last few years but are returning to Williamstown, and a new bus contract that's expected to be higher.

After this year, the school's reserve accounts will be low, Ellis said, with school choice and "Circuit Breaker" funds at $35,000.

As with the Mount Greylock Regional High School budget, the Selectmen expressed concern with a lack of maintenance.

"I see a trend of going down or staying the same on the maintenance," Selectman William Prendergast said. "This is what got Greylock in trouble ultimately."

School Committee Chairwoman Regina DiLego said the committee shared that concern and had doubled that line item from the original proposal.


Tags: preschool,   school budget,   

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Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation Scholarships

LUDLOW, Mass. — For the third year, Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) will award scholarships to students from Lanesborough and Hancock. 
 
The scholarship is open to seniors at Mount Greylock Regional High School and Charles H. McCann Technical School. BWPCC will select two students from the class of 2024 to receive $1,000 scholarships.
 
The scholarships will be awarded to qualifying seniors who are planning to attend either a two- or four-year college or trade school program. Seniors must be from either Hancock or Lanesborough to be considered for the scholarship. Special consideration will be given to students with financial need, but all students are encouraged to apply.
 
The BWPCC owns and operates the Berkshire Wind Power Project, a 12 turbine, 19.6-megawatt wind farm located on Brodie Mountain in Hancock and Lanesborough. The non-profit BWPCC consists of 16 municipal utilities located in Ashburnham, Boylston, Chicopee, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Russell, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield, and West Boylston, and their joint action agency, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC). 
 
To be considered, students must submit all required documents including a letter of recommendation from their school counselor and a letter detailing their educational and professional goals. Application and submission details will be shared with students via their school counselors. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 19.
 
 MMWEC is a not-for-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts created by an Act of the General Court in 1975 and authorized to issue tax-exempt debt to finance a wide range of energy facilities.  MMWEC provides a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state's consumer-owned, municipal utilities. 
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