Lanesborough Committees to Discuss School Funding

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story
The Finance Committee met on Wednesday to brainstorm topics that could be discussed at next Wednesday's meeting.
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Selectmen and the Finance Committee hope to have a better understand of the elementary school's finances before a budget is even crafted.
 
On Wednesday, the Selectmen, Finance Committee and the School Committee are holding a joint meeting to discuss funding of the school.
 
In the past, the groups have had disputes over the final numbers. They hope to curb that by getting on the same page when it comes to sustainability.
 
"Go in with an open mind. Let's have an open conversation," Town Administrator Paul Sieloff told the Finance Committee on Wednesday when the group met to brainstorm topics for next Wednesday's meeting.
 
"Don't go in with a mindset other than just having three different groups working together for a good purpose."
 
Chairman Al Terranova said the Finance Committee's role is more to listen and understand the financial situation of the school. 
 
The Finance Committee said they are looking to discuss longer-term issues with the budget and not crunch the numbers for the upcoming year. Last year the town approved a $2.5 million budget for the school, a growing number that the Finance Committee thinks is unsustainable in the future.
 
"I don't want to nitpick. ... We can't have as much expertise as they do," said member Gregory Wolf, adding that the committee won't have any numbers to even start with at this point of the year.
 
The Finance Committee brings a townwide perspective to the table and they hope the School Committee will gain a better understanding of their concerns as well. Between the elementary school and Mount Greylock, 71 percent of the town's $10 million budget goes to education.
 
"We always project one-third of the budget would be for the elementary school, one-third for the high school and one-third for all town government" said committee member Ronald Tinkham. "Up until eight years ago, that was the trend."
 
The new trend shows education taking up a larger portion of the pie.
 
"What has happened is that the schools have taken on more than the one-third and one-third. From an equity standpoint, it appears that the town has tightened its belt, has done away with a bunch of things," Tinkham said, adding that there is a shift of money to the schools.
 
Terranova said that isn't anything new. All three of the committees have talked about the expanding spending on education. Terranova says he doesn't want to get into having that same conversation over and over again. 
 
"Our job is not to micromanage the School Committee," he said. "It is their responsibility to do what they've got to do. Our job is not to tell what roads to plow, or how many kids should be in each class, or how many paraprofessionals we should have."
 
But the committee can have input on future policy items like how tuition and school choice funds will be managed in the future. There could also be discussion of some larger changes such as reducing the number of staff and classes or keeping the middle school students in the Lanesborough facility.
 
They also want to know what the school committee thinks. And what any of it would mean with a vote for regionalization of the school with Williamstown Elementary School.
 
"We can go in there with the attitude that we are all on the same page and we are having a meeting of the minds," Wolf said.
 
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the elementary school. The effort to bring the groups together was headed by Selectmen Henry Sayers.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

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. 
View Full Story

More Lanesborough Stories