CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Clarksburg School is applying a for a half-million Safe Routes to School grant to improve safe access to the Community Center. 

 

"Essentially what we're proposing is a safe route from the school to the town field and a crosswalk to the senior center," said Assistant Superintendent Tara Barnes. "That's the evacuation plan ... not that we would ever want an evacuation to happen but if it were to happen, we want the safest possible route for the students to get out."

 

The Community Center is the town's designated emergency center and is located within walking distance of the school. 

 

However, there are a number of safety considerations in moving children to the center. 

 

The students can now reach the town field through a rough path in the woods and walk the field until crossing the road or walk along the sidewalk-free Cross Road, a heavily traveled way with no shoulders. 

 

Superintendent John Franzoni said Barnes had provided pictures that show "how narrow and dangerous" the road is. 

 

"It's a really a well-traveled road that vehicles sometimes go too fast on and and people are walking on that road," he said.

 

The school is a town hub and the goal is to make it more pedestrian and bicycle friendly, Barnes said. "The project is intended just to create more accessibility between resources for everyone."

 

The Select Board has signed off on the application and Barnes said she included some of the work being done by Municipal Vulnerability Committee in its planning for the town field. 

 

She said the school's contact with Safe Routes has been helping with shepherding the application through and, should it be rejected, they should get some feedback on preparing for the next grant round.

 

Franzoni also alerted the School Committee to a potential issue regarding school choice students and tuition. A reading by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is that schools are responsible for the K-12 education of children who school choice in. 

 

This does not create a problem for small schools in regional districts or school systems that already educate Grades K-12. But for independent schools like Clarksburg that only educate up to Grade 6 or 8, it could cause financial issues. 

 

For example, Franzoni said, if an Adams student attended through school choice and wanted to attend Drury, Clarksburg could be on the hook for their tuition. This might be a rare instance, since the majority of the children who school choice into Clarksburg are North Adams residents.  

 

The superintendent said it was something he wanted to bring up with the School Committee and that it will be discussed further at the next meeting.

 

In other business: 

 

• Principal Sandy Cote said the school has received its Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System rating results. The administration is reviewing the data but, overall, she said, "we are making moderate progress ... we're pleased with that."

 

• She also noted that the school's float in the Fall Foliage Parade received the Mayor's Award and that the annual Haunted Hayride at Clarksburg State Forest is next weekend. "We're keeping an eye on the weather."