As you may have heard, the Berkshire Hills Regional School District approved unanimously approved the school budget on February 17, 2022. (This link includes the whole budget, our presentation, and the final assessment sheet). The process to build the budget started in August 2021.
District administration and the Finance Subcommittee meet regularly to look at existing programs and opportunities for innovation. We’re excited to hopefully put COVID-19 behind us as we plan for the future.
As you may or may not know, there are three basic pieces to determine each town’s annual assessment: resident enrollment and percentage of the total, the minimum local contribution (MLC) as determined by DESE, and the net assessment.
Enrollment is based on the October 1 student report for resident students. You will see that Stockbridge’s enrollment increased by 7 students, which does not seem to be that great of an increase, unless you also consider the decrease in the number of students for Great Barrington by 19 students. West Stockbridge increased by 1 student. The changes in enrollment between towns, along with the total decrease in student enrollment, resulted in a larger percentage of students for Stockbridge.
Second, Stockbridge’s MLC increased by almost 18%, which then increased the total amount of their assessment.
While the net assessment increased by 4.27%, Stockbridge saw a bigger impact because of the factor previously discussed. When we look at Stockbridge’s longitudinal contributions to the budget, they are more balanced.
This year we did a remarkable job by securing $4 million in grant funds which reduced cost the to taxpayers and supported students and learning.
If you are interested in learning more about the budget process, please keep an eye out for initial meetings starting in August 2022, formal presentations in January and debate and vote in February 2023.
Also, feel free to reach out to me with any questions — Peter.Dillon@bhrsd.org
In the next issue of SU, I will share some updates on the great news from the Massachusetts School Building Authority on Monument Mountain Regional High School being invited into their eligibility period.
Board of Health Update from Charles Kenny, MD
Kenny said, “COVID-19 cases tailing off since the high in February.”
At its last meeting, the Tri-Town Board of Health voted unanimously to rescind its previous directive regarding COVID-19 and the towns of Lee, Lenox, and Stockbridge. The current guidelines of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health now are in effect, namely, in closed public spaces, masks or social distancing are not recommended for vaccinated individuals. The recommendations to wear masks are still in effect for unvaccinated individuals and for vaccinated individuals, for their own protection, who have been advised by their doctors that they have special risks concerning the disease.
