Letter: Vote No on Oct. 8 Proposition 2 1/2 Exclusion

To the Editor:

North Adams voters have an important decision to make on Oct. 8. Will we approve a Proposition 2 1/2 exclusion authorizing a 30-year increase above real estate tax limits to fund the city's share of the cost to build a new elementary school? Or will voters decide there are other, more fiscally responsible options available?

While a new school would be nice, it's not that simple. Many North Adams residents live paycheck-to-paycheck. Others are limited to the amount of their monthly Social Security check to try to make ends meet. For homeowners, the additional tax will be a hardship. For renters, landlords will pass along the increase, raising rents when we already lack affordable apartments.

Even for those who could absorb the additional tax, approving the Proposition 2 1/2 exclusion would be a mistake. North Adams has other major expenses looming on the horizon.

North Adams needs a new fire/police station. NAPD now rents space. Our Fire Department remains in a building suffering from far too many ills to fix. They deserve better. The time is rapidly approaching when North Adams will no longer be able to put off building a new public safety facility. Another Proposition 2 1/2 vote.

Deborah Benoit
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.