WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Friday, Feb. 21 at noon, the Clark Art Institute presents a special tour as part of its Fresh Takes series.
Enjoy a new look at old favorites in the Clark's permanent collection as a Williams College graduate student shares their take on an object with the perspective of new scholarship. Tours begin in the Museum Pavilion.
Free; no registration is required. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events. Admission to the Clark is free January through March 2025.
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Mount Greylock School Committee Sends FY26 Budget to Member Towns
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock School Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to send its member towns a fiscal year 2026 spending plan that calls for increases of about 7 percent in the assessment to Lanesborough and 8 percent in the assessment to Williamstown.
The committee's annual public hearing and vote on a spending plan for the next academic year concludes a process that began in earnest for the panel in December.
That is when the School Committee first heard the budget requests from the middle-high school. At its January meeting, it heard the budget priorities for the district's two elementary schools.
The budget approved on Thursday reflects some of the requests from each of the three schools, but the majority of the $1.37 million hike to the district's gross operating budget is related to cost increases outside the district's control, interim Superintendent Joseph Bergeron explained.
A so-called level service budget, with no increase in discretionary spending, would drive nearly $1 million of that $1.37 million, Bergeron explained.
The non-discretionary increases include $550,000 related to a 16 percent increase in the district's health insurance costs, $340,000 for "contractual obligations, borrowing, transportation and supplies/services cost increases" and a reading specialist position at Mount Greylock that is driven by demand for special education.
As for costs that fall outside the concept of a level-service budget, the FY26 spending plan includes more money for 1-to-1 paraprofessionals ($100,000), a new elementary school math curriculum to replace one that is nearly 30 years old ($90,000) , classroom projectors for four classrooms at Lanesborough Elementary School ($30,000), expanded professional development for staff in math and literacy ($56,700) and the addition of two new teachers at Mount Greylock, one in Spanish and one in the Wellness Department.
Ashlyn Lesure scored 18 points, and Regan Shea and Emma Meczywor added 15 and 11, respectively, as the Hurricanes successfully defended their 2024 state crown and won the program’s fourth state title in a run that has seen Hoosac Valley go to the state final nine times since 2014. click for more
Dias, deputy chief of a department of full-time and volunteer firefighters, was the only nomination to succeed retiring Chief Craig Pedercini. The committee members pointed to Dias' dedication, experience and certifications as informing their decision.
click for more
The annual town meeting overwhelmingly supported the home rule petition, which was waiting on approval from the legislature and the signature of the governor before the local property tax relief plan could be put into action. click for more
Four members of the seven-person committee attended the special in-person meeting at the middle-high school, framed as a budget workshop. click for more
