ADAMS, Mass. — Hoosac Valley Regional School District Superintendent Aaron Dean presented an update to the Selectmen on Wednesday regarding the secondary education collaborative's efforts to achieve long-term sustainability.

 

"We are looking at ways to make ourselves sustainable long term, and when you look at Northern Berkshire County, we are all dealing with declining enrollment, declining resources," Dean said. "We face the same challenges in terms of the student body and their needs."

 

Representatives from three North County school districts, plus the Northern Berkshire School Union, formed the collaborative to explore options for pooling resources and potential high school regionalization.

 

"These three other high schools, if you put them together, you can probably have one graduating class," Dean said. "So we are duplicating a lot of work."

 

With a $100,000 state grant that Dean referred to as "seed money," the task force will issue a request for proposals (RFP) to hire a consultant. The resulting study will guide the group's next steps with the goal of maximizing funding and resources while reducing pressure on communities.

 

"I am pleasantly surprised. The group has really come to the table ready to have this discussion about what we can do together because we are all seeing the same types of things," Dean said. "It is getting harder to come up with the resources and communities like areas are just big enough but just small enough where the state aid just doesn't get us there. So it puts a lot of weight on the towns."

 

Hoosac Valley already shares positions with North Adams Public Schools. Dean said that while it does not significantly move the needle, it is a start and proves that collaboration is viable.