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The School Committee last week voted to add AP physics and statistics, and credit the soft skills course.

McCann Cutting Costs for Electrical & Solar Array Repairs

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — McCann Technical School will receive $10,000 in repairs to its small roof-mounted solar array with a net-metering contract that will cut electricity costs.

The McCann School Committee voted Wednesday to enter into a 25-year solar net metering contract that should cut electricity costs by 25 percent.

"This is something municipalities and school districts are doing across the commonwealth," Superintendent James Brosnan said. "We are not the first we are in the middle of the pack."

He added that he was able to reach an agreement that the contractor would gift $10,000 to make repairs to the 15-year-old array that has been offline for eight years.

"It has not been in operation for a number of years and it needs some significant repairs we just could not afford," he said. "We are hopeful we can get it up and running again and save money on our electricity."

The School Committee also voted to make some policy and curriculum changes, including adding Advanced Placement physics and statistics.

Principal Justin Kratz said some students in honors physics showed in interest in AP physics so now both AP and honors physics will be taught in the same class under the same instructor. Some students will conduct more advanced work.  

AP statistics is being added so students have more options than just the very difficult AP calculus.

"We have a bunch of students that come in as freshman that are on the AP calculus track and then they get to their senior year and they have too much going on," Kratz said. "So now instead of taking AP calculus, which is a very tough class, they can take stats, which is still tough."

Also, the committee voted to make the school's soft skills course that teaches students employee building and job interview skills a credited class on its own. Before it counted as 15 percent of a student's shop grade.

Kratz said students are taken out of shop 45 minutes three times a week to take the class and many put forth little effort and settle for a B average.

"That is not the message we want to send," he said. "They are very important skills and they are very critical items that they are learn for their future success. The teachers feel like they are battling up hill."

The class now will be graded separately.  

The student handbook will also be updated regarding student searches

The school can legally search a student's clothing, locker, and bag if there is reasonable suspicion a student has something he or she shouldn't.

Kratz said all the wording for that is in the handbook but it will be reorganized and clarified so it is all on the same page.

If a student has to be searched two other adults will be present. Students are asked to turn out their pockets, take off their shoes, and be patted down. If they do not comply parents are notified.

The committee agreed to spend $115,085 of the $121,000 governor's equipment grant to purchase some new welding supplies for the school. 


Tags: AP course,   McCann,   solar array,   

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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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