Berkshire County Regional Employment Board Awarded State Grant

10:38AM / Thursday, October 30, 2025Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced more than $8.5 million in career-connected learning grants to support school districts and workforce partners in expanding high-quality career pathways and work-based learning opportunities for students across Massachusetts.

In Berkshire County, the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board was awarded a $334,438 Connected Activities Grant.

Funding will expand work-based learning immersion experiences, strengthen partnerships with local employers, and build a regional system of support for high schools to connect students with career experiences.

"Every student deserves the opportunity to explore their interests and connect what they learn in the classroom to their future careers," said Governor Maura Healey. "These grants will help schools and communities give students meaningful experiences that open doors and build confidence in their next steps after high school."

Massachusetts Career Connected Learning Frameworks, MyCAP, a student-driven process that helps every student design a personalized plan for postsecondary success in college or a career, and

MEFA Pathways, a statewide portal for work-based learning plans. Further, the funding supports all 16 MassHire Workforce Boards to expand work-based learning immersion experiences and build a regional system of support for high schools to connect students with meaningful career experiences.

The grants support several career-connected learning programs that advance the Healey-Driscoll Administration's Reimaging High School initiative and will help prepare students for success in college, career, and civic life by strengthening connections between classrooms and real-world experiences. The funding is administered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and aligns with the

Massachusetts Career Connected Learning Hub and Career Pathway Strategies.

The administration has been expanding access to career-connected education in a variety of ways through their Reimagining High School initiative.

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Healey Files Legislation to Suspend Gas Tax

06:33PM / Wednesday, September 23, 2026

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday filed legislation to lower costs at the gas pump, when buying concert and sports tickets, and on electric bills, while also making investments to strengthen health care, maternal health, food assistance and public safety.

The legislation includes Healey's proposal to suspend the state gas tax for two months. The war in Iran has driven up prices over 50 percent since February. It also includes her Great Divide Act, which caps ticket resale prices and fees and bans speculative tickets, as well as $2.25 million to strengthen postpartum care and mental health support for mothers and families across Massachusetts.

The bill includes changes to how utility companies purchase electricity for customers on basic service, which is estimated to save ratepayers $610 million, as well as $41.5 million for the Department of Transitional Assistance for caseworkers and technological upgrades to help people stay enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) despite President Donald Trump's cuts.

The legislation also provides critical funding for MassHealth, public safety and other state services. In total, it will enable the state to close Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) with a balanced budget by appropriating $2.24 billion in gross spending, at a net cost to the state of $1.46 billion after revenue offsets.

"While President Trump is driving up costs with his war and tariffs, in Massachusetts, we're doing everything we can to make life more affordable for people and businesses," said Healey in a statement. "This budget will lower costs at the gas pump, when buying concert and sports tickets, and on energy bills, while also making sure families can continue to access the health care, food assistance and services they rely on."

If passed, the legislation would suspend the state's 24-cent-per-gallon gas tax for two months, providing immediate relief for residents and truckers. The law will require gas stations to lower prices to reflect the suspended tax and ensure that drivers see the savings at the pump. The estimated $120 million in revenue will be replaced with a portion of unbudgeted, surplus fiscal year 2027 Fair Share surtax collections. For reference, in FY26 there was nearly $1 billion in Fair Share surplus funds available. This means that no ongoing or planned transportation projects financed through the Commonwealth Transportation Fund will be impacted. The Commonwealth will also remain compliant with its CTF bond obligations.

Great Divide Act

The Great Divide Act caps the resale price of concert tickets at 110 percent of the price of the face value of the original ticket. It also limits the service fees and charges that can be imposed by ticket resellers like StubHub and SeatGeek to no more than 10 percent of the total price of the ticket for resale. It prohibits the sale of speculative tickets, which are tickets that are not in the possession of the seller when they are listed for sale. Finally, it implements additional consumer protections measures, including prohibiting the use of deceptive websites by ticket resellers and misleading consumers about the availability of tickets.

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