New Ashford School Committee Wants Another Negotiation on LES Tuition

NEW ASHFORD, Mass. — The School Committee on Wednesday night voted to accept a tuition agreement to send its seventh- through 12th-graders to Mount Greylock Regional School but asked its chairwoman and its superintendent to try again to negotiate a lower tuition rate to be able to continue sending its younger students to Lanesborough Elementary School.

The three-person committee agreed to recommend that the town approve at town meeting the increased rate of $14,477 for its middle and high school students, contingent upon some clarifications in the language about special education students and transportation costs.

But after nearly two hours of fielding questions and listening to impassioned pleas from a current Mount Greylock student and several parents of students in town, and after acknowledging that the town likely would not approve such a large budget increase at town meeting, the committee decided not to accept the $17,314 per-pupil rate set for Lanesborough Elementary. That figure is nearly double the current tuition rate New Ashford pays to send its kindergarten through sixth-graders to Lanesborough.

The new Mount Greylock Transition Committee earlier this month agreed to set a split rate next year in the new school district — $14,477 for New Ashford and Hancock students attending Mount Greylock Regional School and $17,314 for New Ashford students attending Lanesborough Elementary.

School Committee member Jennifer Welch, also the mother of two current Lanesborough Elementary students, said she was under the impression that the Transition Committee had wanted New Ashford to come back with a figure the town could afford in an effort to assure the district that it could count on the revenue attached to the town's students as it developed its own budget.

"They were expecting us to come back with a figure. They were expecting us to negotiate," she said.

But Peter Dillon, superintendent of Shaker Mountain School Union 70, which comprises New Ashford, Hancock and Richmond, said he was not optimistic that any new negotiations would be welcome. While the Transition Committee might have been willing to negotiate further on its own, it has decided to honor the decision the Lanesborough School Committee made last spring to charge New Ashford the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education per-pupil rate, despite his efforts to broker a better deal for the small town.

"We made what I thought was a compelling argument that it should be phased in," Dillon said. "They said it was their obligation to honor the previously negotiated rate.

"It's my deeply held belief that the Lanesborough piece of this is not going to change," he said. "My sense is it's very clear they are not budging."

The New Ashford School Committee decided, however, that it should make that argument again, authorizing a counter-offer of $12,477, which represents a $3,500 per-student increase, for this year, with step increases over the next two years to reach the DESE per-pupil rate by the end of a three-year contract.

"I think this shows a good faith," Welch said.

While it appeared the majority of the residents who attended Wednesday's meeting approved of trying again to negotiate with the Transition Committee, Dillon shared information he had gathered about three other options for the town's kindergarten through sixth-grade students. 

One was the town of Hancock, which has its own elementary school and also tuitions its older children into Mount Greylock. Dillon said Hancock would charge New Ashford $10,000 per student. Dillon said this was the option that makes the most sense geographically, and Hancock's principal, Jay Merselis, who attended the Wednesday's meeting, said he would be happy to talk more with the town about what his school could offer.

"We would welcome you with open arms," he said.

Dillon also received preliminary estimates from both North Adams for $11,945 per student and Pittsfield for $13,316 per student. Neither of these options seemed to garner much enthusiasm, so Dillon said he would focus on getting more solid numbers from Hancock for "extras" the town might have to pay for over and above the $10,000 per student, including helping fund the addition of a full-time nurse at the school to assist with a New Ashford student with medical needs.

The committee decided to set another meeting after it has more information about possible negotiations with the Transition Committee and more detailed numbers about Hancock so that it could prepare a budget in a timely manner to present to the Select Board in advance of town meeting.

They also discussed when to approach the Mount Greylock School Committee — once it is past its transition phase — about having New Ashford join the district.

Toys for Tots Bringing Presents to Thousands of Kids This Year

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:21PM / Friday, December 05, 2025

Volunteers organize toys by age and gender in the House of Corrections storage facility. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Plenty of toys are on their way to children this holiday season thanks to Toys for Tots.

Christopher Keegan has coordinated the local toy drive for the Berkshire Chapter of the Marine Corps Reserve since 2015 and said he has seen the need rise every year, last year helping more than 6,000 kids.

"This is 11 years I've been doing it, and the need has gone up every year. It's gone up every year, and I anticipate it going up even more this year," Keegan said.

On Thursday, the Berkshire County House of Corrections storage facility was overflowing with toys making it the county's very own Santa's workshop. 

Keegan said Berkshire County always shows up with toys or donations. 

"This county is outstanding when it comes to charity. They rally around stuff. They're very giving, they're very generous, and they've been tremendous in this effort, the toys for pride effort, since I've been doing it, our goal is to honor every request, and we've always reached that goal," he said.

Keegan's team is about 20 to 25 volunteers who sort out toys based on age and gender. This week, the crew started collecting from the 230 or so boxes set out around the county on Oct. 1.

"The two age groups that are probably more difficult — there's a newborn to 2s, boys and girls, and 11 to 14, boys and girls. Those are the two challenging ages where we need to focus our attention on a little bit more," he said.

Toys For Tots has about 30 participating schools and agencies that sign up families and individuals who need help putting gifts under the tree. Keegan takes requests right up until the last minute on Christmas.

"We can go out shopping for Christmas. I had sent my daughter out Christmas Eve morning. Hey, we need X amount of toys and stuff, but the requests are still rolling in from individuals, and I don't say no, we'll make it work however we can," he said.

Community members help to raise money or bring in unopened and unused toys. Capeless Elementary student Thomas St. John recently raised $1,000 selling hot chocolate and used the money to buy toys for the drive.

"It's amazing how much it's grown and how broad it is, how many people who were involved," Keegan said.

On Saturday, Live 95.9 personalities Bryan Slater and Marjo Catalano of "Slater and Marjo in the Morning" will host a Toys for Tots challenge at The Hot Dog Ranch and Proprietor's Lodge. Keegan said they have been very supportive of the drive and that they were able to collect more than 3,000 toys for the drive last year.

Volunteer Debbie Melle has been volunteering with Toys for Tots in the county for about five years and said people really showed up to give this year.

"I absolutely love it. It's what we always say. It's organized chaos, but it's rewarding. And what I actually this year, I'm so surprised, because the amount that the community has given us, and you can see that when you see these pictures, that you've taken, this is probably the most toys we've ever gotten," she said. "So I don't know if people just feel like this is a time to give and they're just going above and beyond, but I'm blown away. This year we can barely walk down the aisles for how much, how many toys are here. It's wonderful."