WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Tri-District school superintendent told the Williamstown Elementary School Committee that he is looking at ways to better collaborate among the three districts.

 

Douglas Dias, who serves as superintendent for Williamstown, Lanesborough Elementary and Mount Greylock Regional, said a recent incident involving a boiler replacement in Williamstown pointed to the need for the three schools to share services.

 

"As the boiler situation demonstrated, when we had the facilities manager at Mount Greylock come and assist our staff here, there is a need to have cross pollination between the buildings," Dias said at thee School Committee's monthly meeting last week. "There are holes in the schools. Holes that can be filled."

 

Dias' remarks came up in the context of the committee's annual update on technology at the elementary school.

 

Technology director Tom Welch told the committee how high-tech tools are used in the classroom.

 

The 11 smart boards that had been installed in classrooms are being well used said Welch, who gave his presentation on the smart board in the school's library, where the committee holds its meetings.

 

The school also benefited from last year's victory in the Price Chopper "Tools for Schools" contest by purchasing new iPads with the proceeds of the win. And it received a donation of used MacBooks and iPads from Williams College.

 

In addition, the elementary school uses a variety of educational applications, including its recent addition of McGraw Hill's Everyday Math app.

 

School Committee Chairman Dan Caplinger asked how Williiamstown compares to its Tri-District partners.

 

"I think Mount Greylock is just about ready for a technology takeoff, hopefully," Welch said, alluding to this month's announcement that the junior-senior high school will create a director of academic technology.

 

"They haven't had a point person. I have the good fortune to have the ability to look over [technology  use in] the whole school instead of every period having to teach a class."

 

Caplinger noted that the challenge for Dias is to make sure all three of the Tri-District's schools have the same technological resources for teachers and students.

 

Dias agreed.

 

"If the elementary schools are in sync, for example, and kids are getting a technology-rich education, that puts pressure on me to make sure the resources are there at the high school," he said.

 

There are other areas where the three schools need to be aligned, as well, Dias said. That is where he brought in the example of the recent trouble with the boiler at Williamstown and mentioned the currently vacant position of curriculum coordinator.

 

"We're fortunate to have a rich skill set of staff members in all three buildings," Dias said. "In looking at the districts individually, I can't help but look at them in a collective. The more collaboration we can do between the three districts, the stronger the education we'll be able to provide for all our students."

 

In other business, the committee heard a budget update from Tri-District Business Director Nancy Rauscher. Rauscher explained that she is working to bring budget reports for the three Tri-District schools in line with the format used for reports to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and she promised to provide regular reports to the committee so that it sees adjustments to the budget as they are implemented throughout the year.

 

Dias told the committee the failed boiler has been removed and a replacement had arrived with the expectation to install the new unit over the Thanksgiving weekend. Principal Joelle Brookner noted that October's leak in the heating system caused little disruption to the school other than the use of one "snow day" after the leak occurred.

 

Committee member Richard Reynolds asked whether the district had any legal recourse against the original installer of the heating system for the cost of cleanup and repair. Dias said he needed to look into the system's maintenance plan as drafted when the elementary school was built and would pursue the matter with the district's legal counsel if possible.

 

Brookner gave a report on the school's annual Words Are Wonderful festival and noted that the event is need of new leadership for next October. She and Assistant Principal Elea Kaatz told the committee the school is proceeding with plans to install a "gaga pit" exercise area in the playground, helped by  material and in-kind donations from R.K. Miles and Broadwell Carpentry.

 

Caplinger gave his colleagues and update from the Berkshire County Education Task Force, which is focused on discussing long-term solutions to the problems faced by county districts due to declining enrollments and rising costs. Caplinger said one of the task force's problems is the mistaken belief by some that the group will be able "impose its will" on individual school districts.

 

"Nothing can be further from the truth," Caplinger said of the group, which meets on selected Saturday mornings at Nessacus Middle School in Dalton.