Mazzucco Updates Civic Club on Lanesborough School Dialogue, Revaluation

Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco addresses the first meeting of the Maple Grove Civic Club since its summer break.

ADAMS, Mass. — Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco filled in the Maple Grove Civic Club on the town's school conversations with Lanesborough.

Adams has been spearheading an attempt to entice Lanesborough into tuitioning its students to Hoosac Valley High - or leave Mount Greylock Regional School District completely.

The school district made a presentation to the Lanesborough community; in turn, Lanesborough officials have requested a letter of proposal.

Because much of Hoosac Valley's costs are fixed and they have room for the amount of students Lanesborough sends to Mount Greylock, Mazzucco believes the arrangement could save the town and the school district a $1 million or more each.

"It makes our high school more viable and it makes us more sustainable in the long run," Mazzucco said. "You can cut here, you can cut there, you can get rid of a programs or a few teachers, but at the end of the day, that is not the big kind of change that we need to make to make things sustainable."

Mazzucco said Lanesborough has to decide whether it wants to lock into building a new high school with Williamstown by December. This cost over time would increase Lanesborough's tax rate above Adams', he said.

Some civic club members felt it would be a tough sell to Lanesborough, which is part of a level one district; Adams-Cheshire is a level three district.

Mazzucco said that although he knows this is a hurdle, he feels this rating based on a standardized tests is not fair or a good way to judge the school.

"We have the same teachers they have who went to the same colleges and have the same degrees and the same certification," he said. "It comes down to do you want to judge somebody on just on a test score."

He said there is distinctive correlation between test scores and poverty and part of the reason the district is a level three is because of C.T. Plunkett Elementary, which educates a large lower-income and transient population from Adams.

"There is no more definitive education correlation between poverty and test scores," he said. "The lower your income, it is almost a guarantee that the lower your tests scores are going to be."

He said although Plunkett students sometimes are initially a challenge, by high school, test scores improve and the district does succeed in educating kids. Also, Plunkett has seen an increase in students.

"You are basing students' test scores on a system that is not equal and fair, and we don't have the same opportunities as that kids in Williamstown have," he said. "[The state] don't ensure that low-income students from a district like ours have the same benefits and opportunities as kids from wealthier towns. It's not a fair system so I don't think it is a fair test."

He said he does not think Hoosac Valley is a level-three school and does not think Adams is a level-three town.

Mazzucco said regionalization is part of the future in Berkshire County and he expects to have similar conversations with North Adams in the future.

He said a member of the Mount Greylock School Committee asked him why he wanted to change an agreement between towns that was created 1958. Mazzucco said that is exactly the point.   

"Is this the same Berkshire County it was in 1958? Are our finances the same as they were in 1958? Are we growing like war were?" he said. "I think across the board that answer is no, and we have district arrangements that are 50 or 60 years old."

Civic Club member and former North Adams Public Schools Superintendent Joe Rogge lauded Mazzucco for his efforts.

"Since January you have gotten your hand and your head on the pulse of what is going on better than people who have been here 68 years," Rogge said. "Everything you say, I study this stuff, and you are right on."

The Civic Club meets the third Sunday of the month at the PNA. The club is open to residents of Adams, North Adams and Cheshire.

Mazzucco then answered questions about the 10-year state-mandated property evaluation process currently happening.

Mazzucco said the company the town hired has already evaluated nearly 500 homes and the entire process should be wrapped up around January, depending on the weather.

He said the assessors mostly look at the condition of homes and record what has changed in 10 years. They will look at roofs, windows, the exterior of the house, and they will take a quick look inside.

"Your house may be in better condition than it was 10 years ago or it might be worse, and the goal is to get a fair assent," Mazzucco said. "That impacts what your house is actually valued at so we want to make sure that is accurate so everyone is paying a fair tax."

He said the assessors just need to be let in the door and they can see everything they need to without going much further. They will ask if the basement has been finished and if there has been additional bedrooms or bathrooms installed.

Mazzucco said residents do not have to let the assessors in, however the value of their home will be based on other homes in the neighborhood and similar home in the community. This may mean they will have to pay more.

He said if they want to appeal this they will still have to have an assessor go into the house.

He added that the assessors visit homes according to their schedule. If no one is home when they visit they will leave a note asking for the homeowner to reschedule.

Mazzucco said people should not expect huge increases in their taxes. He said a quarter to a third of the homes usually get a decreased value and quarter to a third of the homes increase. The majority of homes stay the same.

"Realistically the condition or changes in your home will not impact your value too much," he said. "Unless you build a big underground labyrinth in your basement you house's value is not going to double."

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