Pupil Tests Positive for COVID-19 at Pine Cobble School

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com
05:52PM / Tuesday, September 15, 2020Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- On Tuesday evening, Pine Cobble School confirmed a third member of its community, a pupil, has tested positive for COVID-19.

Head of School Sue Wells informed iBerkshires.com of the positive test of a kindergarten student.

Earlier in the day, the Wells notified the media that a second kindergarten teacher had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The first positive test of a kindergarten teacher prompted the private elementary school to go fully remote for at least two weeks starting Monday.

That first test came back on Saturday, three days after a teacher in the kindergarten went home from school with a fever.

At that time, the kindergarten pupils also were sent home, and families were advised to get their children tested at Berkshire Medical Center.

The rest of the school remained in session for in-person classes through Friday, until the first positive test came back.

At that time, despite a protocol that required the school to go remote after a second test, school officials decided to go fully remote for all grade levels based on the one positive.

Pine Cobble's plan for a return to school kept all of its grades in individual cohorts, meaning that there was to be no mixing of students or teachers in different grades.

Students and teachers also were following 6-foot social distancing rules and wearing face coverings provided by the school.

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Mount Greylock Schools Bracing for Another Big Health Insurance Hit

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
12:42PM / Monday, January 12, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Like municipal entities across the county, the Mount Greylock Regional School District is bracing for another year of steep increases in health insurance costs.

It is unknown just how steep, but Superintendent Joseph Bergeron tried to prepare the School Committee at its January meeting on Thursday.

"The rumors, just so you hear them from me … are not confirmed, but right now, the projections are we might be close to a 20 percent increase in what's proposed in order to have premiums cover cost," Bergeron said.

"We're going to see where that goes. That's not at all confirmed. But, if true, a 20 percent increase, if that needs to go all to the appropriated budget, that by itself would be a 3.6 percent increase in our assessments."

Those are the assessments the district makes to member towns Lanesborough and Williamstown that voters each see in the form of, effectively, a bill that gets approved each spring at the annual town meeting.

For the current fiscal year, FY26, the district sent the towns assessments that were up from FY25 by 6.45 percent in Lanesborough and 7.59 percent in Williamstown.

Those hikes largely were driven by the 16 percent health insurance hike sought by the Berkshire Health Group to cover the cost of municipal employees covered by the joint purchase group.

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