Letter: Vote Yes for New Greylock

To the Editor:

Following years of hard work by the North Adams School Building Committee, voters in North Adams will decide on Oct. 8 whether to vote "Yes" and have the city move further forward into the 21st century by building a new state-of-the-art Greylock Elementary School, or to vote "No" and keep using the aging and deteriorating Brayton Elementary School.

The state has agreed to fund 80 percent of the project's $65 million cost by ponying up $42.2 million. The federal government will kick in another $3.6 million for energy incentives, leaving North Adams' share at just under $20 million. A YES vote means we get a brand-new school which will be designed to last at least 50 years. It will have brand-new everything (under warranty) saving money in maintenance costs

A No vote means our students will be educated in Brayton School which is already over 30 years old and in need of major renovations including the roof, outdated electrical systems and a need for a new boiler among other issues. Some of the classrooms will be in the subterranean level which is subject to ongoing mold and mildew issues. That school also has no sprinkler system in case of fire.

The costs to keep maintaining Brayton are estimated at $45 million, about the same amount the state and federal government are willing to give us for a brand-new school. Those estimates are likely to increase if maintenance is done on a project-by-project basis over time because costs increase over time. To me, it's a no-brainer. Either we spend $45 million, if not more, to keep Brayton going or we take that same amount from the state and federal government and put it towards a new school.

Those of us who have lived here most of our lives have often felt we're ignored by Boston because we don't get the state aid for things we want to accomplish. Now it's being offered and all we have to do is say Yes.

Join me on Oct. 8 by voting Yes for a new Greylock School. Remember, we can't expect anyone to invest in us unless we first invest in ourselves.

Paul J. Moriarty
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 fulling 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.