Lanesborough-Williamstown Officials Hopeful of School Leader

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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The candidate chosen by Mount Greylock Regional and SU71 to be the new superintendent was interviewed for the West Springfield post on Tuesday.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williamstown-Lanesborough school officials are optimistic about having a contract for their next superintendent in place by next week, even though their chosen candidate was interviewing in another district on Tuesday.
 
As scheduled, Medway High School Principal Douglas Dias reported to the West Springfield School District on Tuesday morning to take tours of the district's schools, and Dias is scheduled to be interviewed by the West Springfield School Committee on Tuesday evening, according to West Springfield Mayor Edward Sulivan, who serves as chairman of the school committee.
 
Last week, Dias was offered the superintendent post in the Williamstown-Lanesborough Tri-District after a vote of the committees from the Mount Greylock Regional School District and Superintendency Union 71, a partnership of Lanesborough and Williamstown Elementary Schools.
 
On Tuesday afternoon, Mount Greylock School Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Greene replied to an email seeking comment on the status of the Tri-District's negotiations.
 
"[We] are moving forward and expect to have a contract to vote next week," Greene wrote. "Both Union 71 and MG have met in executive session to discuss contract parameters and are in agreement as to the terms. Negotiations with Dr. Dias take place this week."
 
Greene noted that, "Dr. Dias is fulfilling his commitment to interview with West Springfield today."
 
SU71 has a meeting scheduled on Monday, April 6, at 9 a.m. at Lanesborough School with a vote on the superintendent contract on the agenda. Greene said the Mount Greylock School Committee will be able to vote at its previously scheduled Finance Committee meeting on Wednesday, April 8, at 9 a.m.
 
Masslive reported that the first of three candidate interviews in West Springfield took place on Monday night and lasted "less than 20 minutes." Dias' was interviewed Tuesday night.
 
A third candidate is scheduled for an interview on Thursday evening, when an immediate vote is planned.

Tags: MGRHS,   SU71,   superintendent,   

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Mount Greylock School Committee Votes Slight Increase to Proposed Assessments

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to slightly increase the assessment to the district's member towns from the figures in the draft budget presented by the administration.
 
The School Committee opted to lower the use of Mount Greylock's reserve account by $70,000 and, instead, increase by that amount the share of the fiscal year 2025 operating budget shared proportionally by Lanesborough and Williamstown taxpayers.
 
The budget prepared by the administration and presented to the School Committee at its annual public hearing on Thursday included $665,000 from the district's Excess and Deficiency account, the equivalent of a municipal free cash balance, an accrual of lower-than-anticipated expenses and higher-than-anticipated revenue in any given year.
 
That represented a 90 percent jump from the $350,000 allocated from E&D for fiscal year 2024, which ends on June 30. And, coupled with more robust use of the district's tuition revenue account (7 percent more in FY25) and School Choice revenue (3 percent more), the draw down on E&D is seen as a stopgap measure to mitigate a spike in FY25 expenses and an unsustainable budgeting strategy long term, administrators say.
 
The budget passed by the School Committee on Thursday continues to rely more heavily on reserves than in years past, but to a lesser extent than originally proposed.
 
Specifically, the budget the panel approved includes a total assessment to Williamstown of $13,775,336 (including capital and operating costs) and a total assessment to Lanesborough of $6,425,373.
 
As a percentage increase from the FY24 assessments, that translates to a 3.90 percent increase to Williamstown and a 3.38 percent increase to Lanesborough.
 
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