Letter: Homeless Housing in MCLA Dorm is NOT the Solution

To the Editor:

Initially, I was not against the idea of MCLA's president, Jamie Birge, announcing plans to open a currently empty dorm building for housing homeless families, however, the more I've talked with neighbors and friends, the more I believe it's a horrible idea.

As a direct neighbor to MCLA, I didn't have a problem with the Boardman Block being used for people in recovery once I learned about the support services provided (even though I don't believe it's an ideal companion to the students that work and live nearby and that MCLA should have had the vision to acquire it for themselves for future needs/expansion).

This current plan reinforces my long held belief that Mr. Birge has no vision for MCLA and, as a part-time resident of New Hampshire, he's not at all invested in the future of MCLA or North Adams. I question whether or not Mr. Birge has aggressively pursued all recruitment and retention opportunities and identified organizational changes to increase student admissions. That must be his No. 1 priority and I'm incredibly skeptical that it is.

If the homeless situation in North Adams is such that additional housing is needed then I am all for considering every option. However, if the homeless families would be relocated from outside the city, then I think Mr. Birge is simply looking for "easy" money. Unless all efforts are made to increase the shrinking admissions, Mr. Birge's plan seems no different than when North Adams slumlords placed newspaper ads in Troy, N.Y., years ago offering free TVs to Section 8 renters if they relocated to one of their North Adams units.

Kurt Kolok
North Adams, Mass.

Clarksburg Students Write in Support of Rural School Aid

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
07:25AM / Sunday, March 15, 2026

Mason Langenback calculated that Clarksburg would get almost $1 million if the $60 million was allocated equally.

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Eighth-graders at Clarksburg School took a lesson in civic advocacy this week, researching school funding and writing letters to Beacon Hill that call for fully funding rural school aid. 

 

The students focused on the hardships for small rural schools and their importance to the community — that they struggle with limited funding and teacher shortages, but offer safe and supportive spaces for learning and are a hub for community connections.

 

"They all address the main issue, the funding for rural schools, and how there's a gap, and there's the $4 million gap this year, and then it's about the $40 million next year, and that rural schools need that equitable funding," said social studies teacher Mark Karhan.

 

A rural schools report in 2022 found smaller school districts cost from nearly 17 percent to 23 percent more to operate, and recommended "at least" $60 million be appropriated annually for rural school aid. 

 

Gov. Maura Healey has filed for more Chapter 70 school aid, but that often is little help to small rural schools with declining or static enrollment. For fiscal 2027, she's budgeted $20 million for rural schools, up from around $13 million this year but still far below the hoped for $60 million. 

 

Karhan said the class was broken into four groups and the students were provided a submission letter from Rural Schools Advocacy. The students used the first paragraph, which laid out the funding facts, and then did research and wrote their own letters. 

 

They will submit those with a school picture to the governor.