Letter: Disappointment in Local Leadership to secure Shelter Solutions

To the Editor:

I have a pit in my stomach this morning after reading about the decision against making Berkshire Towers a homeless shelter.

I am utterly disappointed by Mayor Macksey, The North Adams City Council, Representative Barrett, and President Birge in your handling of this situation.

You have all aided in the further traumatization of families seeking shelter.

There will never be enough resources to support people who are unhoused until you all make it a priority to support those resources. When someone redevelops an apartment building — no one questions whether we have enough resources available to support tenants moving in. But suddenly when we are talking about unhoused people our hackles rise. You have let assumptions and fears about being homeless take the focal point of your attention. You have allowed "not in my back yard" rhetoric take precedence over suffering families. This approach has directly contributed to keeping those families living on the streets. Are you proud of this?

Rather than push against a solution that came to the table, you all should have helped the community understand why giving people shelter is necessary right now. You know that we are facing a crisis. And that crisis is deepening as a recession nears. You are all prioritizing your comfort over the survival of our neighbors. And for that, you should be ashamed.

Jessica Sweeney
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.