Johnson Seeking Seat on Lanesborough Board of Selectmen
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — If you don't like the way things are going, change it.
That's what Michelle Johnson hopes to do as she seeks election to the Board of Selectmen. Incumbent Robert Ericson is up for election on June 21 and Johnson was the first in to challenge him for the seat.
The Prospect Street resident moved to Lanesborough in 2003 because of the town's affiliation with Mount Greylock Regional School but that relationship was recently threatened when members of the Board of Selectmen began questioning its future. There was some consideration of a tuition agreement with Adams-Cheshire Regional School District, which followed a push from a former selectman to dissolve the elementary Supervisory Union 71 shared with Williamstown.
"I knew of Mount Greylock and when we moved out here, I knew I wanted my kids to go to Mount Greylock," Johnson said. "We used to play them in sports. They've always had a fairly good academic reputation. That's the reason we picked Lanesborough itself, because of the high school. That's why I've been so passionate about keeping it our high school."
Johnson had been active in the school council and PTO for a number of years but the debate about her children's future high school affiliation drew her into town governance.
The Selectmen often cited cost reductions as the reasoning behind considering alternative options. There had been plenty of debates over saving money, including an argument on the town meeting floor over a $25,000 reserve account for the elementary school.
Johnson spoke on the floor calling for that money to be in the hands of those elected to look over the school system and not controlled by the Finance Committee.
The Board of Selectmen have continually called for reductions to school spending. But Johnson doesn't feel that way.
She believes the school district is "what Lanesborough hangs its hat on. I believe that is what attracts people to our town to live. I've said that for a year now. Our school system is what keeps us thriving as a town."
"I would like to have more of a focus on growing the town and less of a focus on cutting things," Johnson said. "Our taxes are high, I am totally aware of that, but I'd rather see us expand our tax base than make more cuts to the budget."
She had considered running for the School Committee but is confident with the representation there and has her sights on the bigger picture.
She said the first step to growing the town's tax base is to at least have a master plan, something which is currently lacking. The town has capital plans for a number of years but Johnson says there needs to be more of a vision for what the town will look like in the future. From that, priorities can be set.
"It's hard to steer the ship if you don't know where the ship is going. You have to have a vision for what you want in the future and I don't think you can make that in isolation, it has to be a team decision. And then you make a plan to get there," Johnson said.
"Obviously everybody wants their taxes to go down but I don't think that's going to happen. Taxes have never gone down. Can we keep them the same or close to the same? We can try but it is not easy. We have a small town and a lot of municipal services to pay for."
Johnson also says she has hope for the Berkshire Mall, which has seen troubling times with the loss of two anchor stores recently. She said she'd work with the owners and managers to find a way to improve vitality.
As for the town's spending, she said health care will continue to be a budget driver and there is little that can be done about that. So instead of focusing solely on trying to cut the budget, she'd rather increase the number of businesses and residents splitting the bill.
But, she isn't excluding making cuts to the budget. She said she doesn't know exactly where there is room to cut but that she'd look deep into the expenditures to find areas.
"I think at some point everyone is going to have to give a little bit. At this point can I tell you where in the budget? No. But I do believe if you are going to start chipping away at the budget you cannot go after one line item. You have to be judicious in the way you do it. It can't only be the low hanging fruit," Johnson said.
Johnson moved to Lanesborough in 2003 from Abington. She was originally from Bennington, Vt., attended what was then North Adams State College and moved to outside of Boston. She later became a paralegal and eventually a special education teacher, which is her current profession.
After moving back to the county, she worked as a paralegal before going to Hillcrest Educational Centers. After two years, she left there and went to Central Berkshire Regional School District, then Adams-Cheshire Regional School District, and now Lenox.
"I feel like I can make a positive change. I feel like things have been static for a while and I fundamentally believe that if you don't like the way things are going you should change it," Johnson said.
Tags: election 2016, Selectmen, town elections,
