To the Editor:

Across the 1st Berkshire District, our schools face a unique set of challenges. Declining enrollment, rising transportation costs, workforce shortages, increasing special education expenses, and growing student mental health needs are placing significant pressure on local districts and taxpayers alike.

We need to continue to strengthen the connections between our primary schools, higher education institutions, career training programs, and local employers so that more young people can build successful futures right here in the Berkshires. Whether it's early college programming that has been spearheaded and highly successful right here in the 1st Berkshire District with MCLA, new trades training like the HVAC program at McCann, or the high demand certifications and trainings in healthcare now being built and operated at BCC, MCLA, and within our K-12 system. Each of these represents an example of how we do things well right here in our region, and lays the groundwork for how we can continue to advance educational support.

A strong public education system is directly connected to housing, childcare, transportation, workforce development, and economic opportunity. If we want to retain young families, attract new residents, and build a stronger regional economy, we must continue investing in educational excellence at every level.

I support continued and enhanced investment in public education, career and technical education, and early childhood education. I also support policies that recognize the unique challenges facing rural and small-city districts, particularly around transportation funding, the imbalance of special education costs and state funding formulas, and educator recruitment and retention. When local students' needs change, we need to be aggressive in advocating and designing policies that remain agile to the cost-of-service impacts and be willing to change existing practices such as the Chapter 70 funding formula. Together, we need to foster a culture of equitable education investment that lifts up our students and families, not one that measures their value based on standardized tests that have proven to be determined more heavily by median household income, and not the quality of our educators, the commitment of our students or the support of our communities.

Every student deserves a pathway to success, whether that pathway leads to a college classroom, a skilled trade, military service, entrepreneurship, or a career right here in the Berkshires. As your State Representative, I will work collaboratively with educators, families, school leaders, higher education institutions, workforce partners, and state agencies to make sure that the Berkshires have a strong voice in shaping the future of education policy in Massachusetts, and will ensure that our communities get the tailored support we need and deserve.

Sincerely,

Andrew Fitch
North Adams, Mass. 

Candidate for state representative, 1st Berkshire District