Letter: The Children of North Adams Deserve New Greylock

To the Editor:

The City of North Adams has an incredible opportunity on Oct. 8. As a community, we not only have the chance to say "yes" to being the recipient of the largest grant in the City's history, at over $42 million. We not only have the chance to move forward with building a state-of-the-art energy efficient building that is projected to save the city $100K-plus per year in expenses. We not only have the chance to avoid dumping tens of millions of dollars into Band-Aids on our existing deficient building (Brayton) with systems at the end of their serviceable life, and we not only have the chance to invest in a project that could drive over $100 million in local economic impact.

In fact, right now we have the rare, monumental chance to show the children, educators and families of today's and future North Adams that we are committed to the wellbeing, education, and support that our youngest learners and their educators deserve.

For many of us with children in the city, the choice is crystal clear. For those with infants or that are soon expecting, the chance for their preK to second graders to attend a brand-new school is exciting and inspiring. For those of us with children who have recently gone through the doors of old Greylock or Brayton, the reality of the deficiencies of those schools shines a bright light on why we need this new school. For those who are adults in the community that grew up here and benefited from the generational investments in school infrastructure that came before, the opportunity and duty to pay it forward so that future generations can thrive is immense. In all cases, the weight of this decision is ours to make, and the opportunity is now ours to take hold of, or squander.

As a resident and taxpayer in this City of North Adams, a community I choose to call home and the place I have built my life and family in, I am honored to have the chance to vote YES on Oct. 8 for the debt exclusion to fund the city's share ($19.6 million) of the full $65.4 million new Greylock School Project. Furthermore, I ask and urge my fellow residents, committed to our community's youth and the prospect of a bright future ahead, to please do the same.

Benjamin Lamb
North Adams, Mass.

Ben Lamb is a member of the School Building Committee and a parent of two children currently attending Brayton Elementary School.

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.