CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Voters will be asked to fill the vacant seat on the Select Board in a special election this December.
Board member Ronald Boucher submitted his letter of resignation two weeks ago with nearly 2 1/2 years left on his term. The board on Wednesday morning set a date of Tuesday, Dec. 7, to elect his replacement.
"I want to thank him for his service to the community for the last three years, he's done a lot of really good stuff to get us moving in the right direction here with the school," Chairwoman Danielle Luchi said of Boucher. "He was a very, very active board member, and we appreciate everything he did for us."
Luchi said the winner in the special election will serve until the annual town election in May, when the final two years of the term will be on the ballot.
The three-person board has frequently had only two members in the past because of resignations. Seven years ago, a two-person board was at a stalemate over hiring a town administrator until the annual town election brought the board back up to three.
Luchi and board member Allen Arnold said they did not want to get into a position of not being able to make a decision.
"We all discuss things and work well together but we can always go into a deadlock and it's just good to have that third person," said Luchi.
Luchi, as vice chairman, had been sworn in as chairman last week but the board formally reorganized on Wednesday morning. She said town counsel had advised it was automatic for the vice chair to step up but "because there was concern from some community members," it was decided to take a vote Wednesday.
The board also went into executive session to discuss negotiations with the town administrator. Rebecca Stone's three-year contract is up in October 2022. Boucher had given her a verbal warning at the last meeting prior to his resignation.
The session on the contract was preceded by another executive session on the "reputation, character, physical condition, or mental health, rather than professional competence, of an individual." No one else was in attendance other than the board and administrative assistant when the executive sessions started. The board said it would not be taking a vote when it came out of the executive sessions.
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Central Berkshire School Officials OK $35M Budget
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved a $35 million budget for fiscal 2025 during its meeting on Thursday.
Much of the proposed spending plan is similar to what was predicted in the initial and tentative budget presentations, however, the district did work with the Finance subcommittee to further offset the assessments to the towns, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said.
"What you're going see in this budget is a lower average assessment to the towns than what you saw in the other in the tentative budget that was approved," she said.
The fiscal 2025 budget is $35,428,892, a 5.56 percent or $1,867,649, over this year's $33,561,243.
"This is using our operating funds, revolving revenue or grant revenue. So what made up the budget for the tentative budget is pretty much the same," Director of Finance and Operations Gregory Boino said.
"We're just moving around funds … so, we're using more of the FY25 rural aid funds instead of operating funds next year."
Increases the district has in the FY25 operating budget are from active employee health insurance, retiree health insurance, special education out-of-district tuition, temporary bond principal and interest payment, pupil transportation, Berkshire County Retirement contributions, and the federal payroll tax.
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