Greylock Principal Chosen to Lead Clarksburg School

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
01:31PM / Wednesday, June 08, 2022Print Story | Email Story

Sandra Cote, seen in this file photo, has been named the new principal of Clarksburg School.

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Sandra J. Cote, currently the principal of Greylock School in North Adams, has been named to lead Clarksburg School.

The longtime educator replaces Tara Barnes, who was hired as the director of pupil services for the Northern Berkshire School Union.

"We are excited to have an educator with over 30 years experience for years as a principal," said Superintendent John Franzoni on Tuesday. "Sandy and I worked together when I was dean of students at Greylock School for three years and we both are graduates of North Adams' Drury High School and we've known each other since we were very young.

"I respect her as an educator and she'll be a great addition to Clarksburg."

Cote has been principal of Greylock since 2003, after teaching in the North Adams school system for 15 years.

Franzoni said the school staff was notified of the hiring on Monday before it became public. Cote has agreed to a three-year contract that is expected to be signed by the end of the week.

The superintendent said the school received "four very qualified candidates" who were interviewed by a committee that included himself, School Committee Chair Laura Wood, teachers Cathy Howe, Mark Karhan, Colette Klein and Mary Quinto and Information Technology Director Joshua Arico. Cote was one of two finalists.

"We've been very fortunate the last two years to replace two veteran principals that did a great job ... with two other veterans," Franzoni said. "Dr. [Martin] McEvoy up in Florida and now Sandy in Clarksburg, that's really I think, a good sign for our district that we're getting such high-quality applicants for the principal positions."

McEvoy started at Gabriel Abbott Memorial School on July 1 last year, replacing Heidi Dugal, who had been principal for 13 years and a teacher for 15 years prior. McEvoy had been principal of Lanesborough Elementary School and of Herberg Middle School in Pittsfield, and vice principal at Hoosac Valley High School in Cheshire, and did a year's stint as a superintendent in Hatfield.

Greylock School is expected to close within the next several years if a renovation project at Brayton School is successful. Cote is currently a member of the School Building Committee.

While Clarksburg is gaining a principal, North Adams is losing another administrator. Brayton Principal Carrie Wallace is retiring at the end of the school year and Assistant Superintendent Kimberly Roberts-Morandi has accepted the position of superintendent of schools in Sutton.

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Steel Structure Completed, Roof Taking Shape at New Greylock School

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
05:45AM / Thursday, September 17, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The steel work is completed and the roof is taking shape at the new Greylock School.

"Nearly all of the steel is complete. They've essentially demobilized from the site," Todd Ashford, representative with owner's project manager Colliers International, told the School Building Committee on Tuesday. "A couple of big trades that have started their construction are the masonry block on the exterior walls, the exterior metal framing has started, and roofing is anticipated to start in the next, I would say, two weeks."

He said a lot of the masonry block and steel framing on the exteriors should be close to completion by the next meeting. Also, a binder course of asphalt should be down by the first week in October, which should help reduce the dirt and mud coming off the site.

A large slab actually was scheduled to be poured Wednesday to house the HVAC equipment and was expected to take until 7 p.m. Mayor Jennifer Macksey said those residents signed up on the email list were apprised of the after hours work.

The committee also approved invoices for the month and Ashford noted that about $17.8 million in invoices have been paid to date, of which $6.4 million was eligible for reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The MSBA is reimbursing the city for 80 percent of eligible costs, or about $42 million.

Committee member Lisa Blackmer asked if the reimbursements were keeping pace with expenditures.

Macksey said it's been about 30 to 45 days for reimbursement, and so far they've had no problems with reimbursements. Colliers and Nancy Rauscher, director of school finance and operations, have been working well together, she said.

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