Adams-Cheshire May Restructure School Model

The School Committee fields questions at Monday's meeting about a potential restructuring of the school district.

CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Adams-Cheshire Regional School District may restructure to balance class sizes and create more supplementary teaching positions.

The School Committee met with teachers and parents on Monday night to discuss a possible options that could designating Cheshire Elementary School for prekindergarten to Grades 1 or 2 and C.T. Plunkett for Grades 2 through 5.

Superintendent Kristen Gordon said the proposal came out of discussions focused on improving student achievement throughout the district.

"When I was the Plunkett principal, we had 27 kids in the first grade and at Cheshire there was 15," Gordon said. "If we look at it in terms of a district moving forward, that is just not anywhere near equitable."

Gordon said having a designated "early childhood center" would be beneficial because everyone would be in the same building and teachers can together directly focus on early childhood development.

Having all of the teachers from a single grade together would allow them to more easily collaborate and pupils could be matched to the proper teacher.

"Everyone would all be on the same page within the district with the grade levels," she said. "Everyone would be getting the same services, the same curriculum, the same level of support, and shared educational resources."

She said the restructuring would allow the children to get more time with technology and there would be a special education teacher for each grade level.

It also would allow the district to bring in services not available before because of tight budgets. These services include reading coaches, math coaches, and interventionists. And more advanced children could be challenged more.

"We felt if we could dump a bunch of services in that early childhood center that perhaps we could get our kids reading when they hit that third grade mark, which will benefit all of our kids come middle and high school," Gordon said.

She said these services have been recommended to the district by the state Department of Education, but it has been unable to hire new people because of budget restraints.

"It looks like we are running into another really tough budget year, and we are not going to get money for those things," she said. "So this was a way to create those positions that we desperately need."

The informational meeting was held after many parents and teachers showed concern over the possible restructuring after Gordon mentioned the idea to some teachers. Gordon said she wanted to clear the air and ensure transparency. The restructuring is only in early discussions; it was to be revealed it after the budget was complete because it is not connected to the budget.

"I really want it to be transparent, and we were not trying to ever hide anything form the families," she said. "We wanted to keep this discussion away from the budget because this discussion did not start as a way to solve a budget issue."

She said the committee and administration need public input and want teacher and parents to be heavily involved in the process.

Some Cheshire teachers and parents brought up concerns about increased class sizes and felt it would not benefit Cheshire students who already have small classes. They said they valued smaller classes over services many students may not need.

Reading coach Elaine Hunter said the restructuring would equalize education throughout the district and must be done to better aid all of the district's students.  

"We together own each and every one of the students and when we look at the cost per child we currently have we are far below the standards and that's unacceptable," Hunter said. "This is a way to sort of separate out two buildings and disperse those funds in a more equal fashion."

Cheshire Selectwoman Carol Francesconi asked how moving the students would affect the regional agreement and the amount of money Cheshire pays to support the schools.

Gordon said the question has not even been approached yet but will have to be answered in the future.

School Committee member Joshua Demarsico-Birkland said the restructuring will not fix all the issues the district faces and is only the beginning of many hard decisions that will have to be made to ensure a bright future for the schools.

"Things will have to change because with the budget, our current structure is not sustainable and we have to be proactive to better meet the needs of the student," Demarsico-Birkland said.

The School Committee ultimately will make the decision but Chairwoman Darlene Rodowicz said she does not expect a decision to happen any time soon.  

She said there will be plenty of meetings where people can make their concerns know. The only thing that could speed up the process is if any cost benefits from the restructuring could help substantially close a budget gap, she said.

Special Minerals Agrees to Pay Adams, River Groups Over River Discharge

Staff ReportsiBerkshires
02:58PM / Friday, May 03, 2024

Adams plans to use the $50,000 it will get in the consent decree toward the removal of the Peck's Road Dam. 

BOSTON — Specialty Minerals is expected to pay $299,000 for a discharge of calcium carbonate into the Hoosic River nearly three years ago in a consent decree with the Attorney General's Office. 

 

The river turned visibly white from Adams to the Vermont state line from the mineral that leaked out from the plant's settling ponds on Howland Avenue in November 2021. 

 

Calcium carbonate, also known as chalk or limestone, is not toxic to humans or animals. However, the sudden discoloration of the water alarmed local officials and environmentalists and prompted an emergency session of the Northern Berkshire Regional Emergency Planning Committee. 

 

"We allege that this company violated its permits, disregarded federal and state law, and put the Hoosic River — a resource cherished by the Adams community — at risk," said AG Andrea Campbell in a statement. "I am grateful for this collaboration with our state agency partners and committed to holding polluters accountable and working to bring resources back to communities disproportionately impacted by environmental harms."   

 

If approved by the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, the consent decree will require Specialty Minerals to pay a total of $299,000, which includes payments to the town of Adams and three community groups in Northern Berkshire County that will be used to benefit water quality and prevent stormwater impacts. 

 

Once approved, most of the settlement would fund multiple projects to benefit water quality, including infrastructure improvements and native plantings to mitigate stormwater impacts in the Hoosic River Watershed. Specifically, the proposed settlement provides for: 

• $50,000 to the town of Adams for infrastructure improvements in a tributary of the Hoosic River
• $50,000 to Hoosic River Revival for stormwater mitigation projects  
• $50,000 to Hoosic River Watershed Association for a native plant garden and other projects to mitigate stormwater impacts and benefit water quality 
• $50,000 to Sonrisas to fund invasive plant removal and native plant habitat establishment at Finca Luna Búho, a community land project that centers the voices and prioritizes the decision-making of those living in marginalization. 

It will also provide $30,000 in civil assessments to the state's Natural Heritage Endangered Species Fund and $20,000 in civil penalties for violation of state law, as well as $49,000 to offset the costs of the AG's enforcement efforts.