Letter: Jennifer Macksey for Mayor

To the Editor:

I am writing to encourage you to cast your vote for Jennifer Macksey as the next mayor of North Adams. I have worked very closely with Jennifer in matters of the Northern Berkshire School Union. Jennifer's success rate for improving our schools has been 100 percent.

I am the chairperson for the Northern Berkshire School Union's joint school committees. Jennifer was hired as business manager for NBSU with her main goal to write grants for the five town school districts. Jennifer went way above and beyond finding grant money for all of the schools. To Jennifer's position as business manager, assistant superintendent was added to her job description as she was able to receive building grants and then proceeded to oversee the projects from bids to final completion. Jennifer has done an amazing job working with all five towns in the NBSU. Jennifer is always there with answers and suggestions to improve all of the school communities.

On the business manager side of her job, Jennifer has been able to organize all of the individual budgets for each school and was able to set up an account so each of the shared employees did not have to receive five different checks from five different towns that belong to the NBSU. Jennifer's accounting skills have enabled the towns to file end of year reports for their schools. Jennifer has always met all grant deadlines and has made sure that all NBSU bills are paid in a timely fashion.

Leadership and compassion are two words that I would use to describe Jennifer. Jennifer has the ability to evaluate situations and she has incredible skills with which to make professional decisions. Jennifer has strong, effective, decision making skills. Jennifer has a passion for service.

Jennifer has been personally connected to North Adams her entire life. She has been a resident of North Adams, an employee in the City of North Adams, an employee in MCLA, vice president of Southern Vermont College and is currently the assistant superintendent/business manager of the Northern Berkshire School Union, which serves five towns and four schools. Jennifer has the best interests for the City of North Adams in her decision to be mayor of North Adams.

Judith Oleson
Florida, Mass. 

Judith Oleson is chair of the Abbott Memorial School Committee and the Northern Berkshire School Union Committee. 

MCLA Kicks Off Fall Term With New President, Full Dorms

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:41AM / Wednesday, September 09, 2026

President Diana Rogers-Atkinson says she's excited to be at MCLA and impressed by the work done by the college's faculty and staff. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts kicked off the school year last week with fully occupied dorms and its "lucky 13th" president. 

 

Diana Rogers-Atkinson welcomed the gathering of staff, faculty and student representatives in the Venable Hall gymnasium for the traditional convocation breakfast on Tuesday, along with several trustees and Mayor Jennifer Macksey. Theater arts professor Laura Stanley sang the alma mater, starting a new tradition. 

 

"This is a great time of the year. It's a time of new beginnings on many levels for us this year, and I'm really excited," said the college's new leader. "I hope everyone is prepared for an exciting school year ahead. I am constantly impressed by the work that the MCLA staff and faculty do every day. You work tirelessly to provide our students with a fantastic education and a home away from home. I want to thank you on behalf of our board for your dedication, determination, and hard work."

 

The hard work is paying off as the college's enrollment continues to climb out of the hole it dropped into during the pandemic. 

 

The college has 162 first-year students and 89 transfer students, Richard Glejzer, provost and vice president of academic affairs, said, up from 219 last year. 

 

"We also have an additional student pool that we've kept separate in our count because it's a one-time pool," he explained. "As we are serving as a teach-out partner for two [closed] institutions, Anna Maria College and Hampshire College, we have two students coming from Anna Maria, and we have 20 students coming from Hampshire College. That brings us up to 272 new students, up 24 percent when you add all this together from this from last year and 29 percent from the year before."

 

He held up his hand to halt the applause to "add one more thing": looking at a "slice" of graduate student numbers, the college is expecting 105 to be enrolled, up from 92 last year.