CLARKSBURG, Mass. — School officials say the fiscal 2026 budget is up by less than one percent — if they didn't have to carry nearly $200,000 for retirements and FICA.

 

"I think for most towns, the town budget usually carries insurance and FICA, at least for retirees," said Assistant Superintendent Tara Barnes. "That's typically what happens in other towns, they don't carry the retirees' insurance or FICA on the school side of the budget."

 

She pointed out at last week's joint meeting of the School Committee, Select Board and Finance Committee that no other town department's budget is charged for these. Rather, they are a separate line within the town budget. In the Northern Berkshire School Union, only Clarksburg puts Federal Insurance Contributions Act withdrawals and retirees on the school side.

 

The town's Finance Committee had pushed for the school budget to absorb retiree insurance back in 2018, as well as wage-withholding such as FICA to provide some financial relief to the town. 

 

"I think this is a good time for us all as leaders in the town to come together to say, is this the moment to to turn this back over onto the town side? Because it did live on the town side at one time," she said. 

 

Select Board Chair Robert Norcross was vehemently against the idea, saying the town is still struggling financially.

 

"The town side doesn't have any money. The town side is going broke. The town side is going bankrupt. Our roads are a mess. Our Senior Center is run by all volunteers, because we can't afford anybody. We just did away with our police department," he said. "What else do you want us to do away with?"

 

The school's operational budget is up 0.67 percent at $2,987,176; adding in the retirees insurance, it jumps to 7.19 percent. 

 

The coverage for FICA and retirees has more than doubled at $193,560 since shifting to the school side. The School Committee has been school choice funds but those have decreased dramatically over the past several years. 

 

The town and School Committee had agreed to keep a base of $300,000 in the school choice; the account currently has $24,000 with an estimated $187,026 coming in next year. That's down from $301,000 in fiscal 2021. 

 

"We have dwindled our school choice money down to nothing, essentially, and we're not getting any more in as you can see," said Barnes. "This trend is just going to continue to go down. ...

 

"This is a big change from when I was principal, where we were seeing school choice coming in from kindergarten every year, where we were opening up slots all the time. That is not the case in Clarksburg right now."

 

Her argument was that state Chapter 70 education aid is on the rise because of the number of Clarksburg children now attending the school. An estimated $2.2 million is coming in the next fiscal year, up $121,000 over this year. 

 

That money is going into the town coffers, she said, and could be used to offset the insurance. 

 

School Committee member Mary Giron said it was a matter of optics, that no one was going to vote for a 7 percent increase in the school budget.  

 

"We cannot afford to have a 7 percent increase in the school budget," responded Norcross. "It's got to be around the 2 percent so we can afford it."

 

Clarksburg is now paying 54 percent for the superintendent's office because its enrollment is up but Norcross thought the other school districts in the NBSU should be paying an equal amount.

 

For the $300,000, the town could hire its own superintendent, he said. 

 

The $312,000 NBSU administration line includes the superintendent, business administrator, technology director, special education director (Barnes), clerical support, supplies and rent on the North Adams office. 

 

There was some discussion about moving the union office to the second floor of Town Hall but the group agreed that it would require renovations and run into handicapped accessibility challenges. 

 

The status of contract negotiations with the teachers was also raised with the possibility there could be level funding. School officials didn't think that likely. 

 

Barnes said cutting the school budget by $100,000 or more would likely mean cutting at least two positions and possibly prekindergarten. Cutting the interventionist could actually result in more special education expenses down the line, she said, and the dean of students is filling multiple roles, including stepping in as a teacher because the school is down to one substitute.

 

"The point is that we've been using the school choice to balance the budget for the last six years," said Superintendent John Franzoni, who was attending virtually. "The school is not overstaffed ... In making these cuts, we're talking about hurting the education of the kids in our schools."

 

He and Barnes said the school applies for every grant it can but it's so small that it often doesn't qualify, like for a recent prekindergarten grant that Hoosac Valley Regional was able to obtain.

 

Select Board members Colton Andrews and Daniel Haskins asked for worst-case scenarios from Barnes — what would be cut at a 2 percent and a 4 percent increase. 

 

"You have to be very, very specific with what's going to be cut, not just, oh, in general," said Andrews. "So people have an idea that this, this, this and this is gone to meet that number. 

 

"I think on the transparency aspect of it ... you need to be straight and honest across the board. This costs x, y and z. This is what we're gonna have to eliminate, without increasing the tax base, or increasing the tax rate."

 

The School Committee will meet again on Thursday.

 

In other business: 

 

• Norcross said the town has signed a contract with D.J. Wooliver to do the roof for about $400,000, pending approval for a debt-exclusion borrowing. The town has $113,000 in stabilization it could consider as backup should Wooliver find more extensive problems. 

 

The job would be done at the end of June, beginning of July after the students were out of school and hopefully prior to the start of the summer program. Thomas Bona, who has worked with Wooliver in the past, estimated two weeks to complete the project, possibly three if inclement weather. 

 

• The School Committee signed a letter in support of the Clarksburg Four Corners project, a municipal vulnerability project that includes reconstructing the town field. Principal planner Courteny Morehouse of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission said this next grant application will include engineering studies, design and permitting and that Clarksburg students will get to provide input on the trails and recreational features.