PITTSFIELD, Mass. The Public School Committee on Friday unanimously voted to amend the district s face mask policy in accordance with Gov. Charlie Baker s new guidance that was released on Monday. The changes impact the district in relation to the use of masks in outdoor settings during the school day and youth and amateur sports. As of this week, students no longer have to wear masks when outdoors even if 6 feet of distance cannot be maintained. This applies to recess, physical education, and youth sports. Superintendent Joseph Curtis clarified that a family member can feel free to ER ask their child to stay masked outside and the district will support that decision.
Mount Greylock Superintendent Jason McCandless and Business Administrator Joe Bergeron on Wednesday presented the regional district s $25.6 million fiscal 2022 spending plan to the town body for review. Although the budget includes an approximate 4.6 percent increase in the operating budget for the PreK-12 district, the district is seeking increases of just 1.9 percent and 2.0 percent in the assessments to member towns Williamstown and Lanesborough, respectively. The rest of the increase is being covered by grants, including pandemic-relief grants, and drawdowns on the district s three reserve accounts: School Choice, tuition and excess and deficiency. Finance Committee member Melissa Cragg spent several minutes questioning Bergeron about the long-term implications for local property taxpayers of the programmatic changes in the FY22 budget.
That was the bottom line takeaway last week when Town Manager Jason Hoch presented the FY22 budget to the town s Finance Committee. What is unknown at this point is the size of an increase in the assessment from the Mount Greylock Regional School District. Total education outlays (which includes a much smaller assessment from McCann Tech) accounts for about 52 percent of the revenue raised by property taxes in FY21. One day after Hoch s presentation to the Fin Comm, the Mount Greylock School Committee heard from the administration that it will be proposing a budget that seeks 1.67 percent more from Williamstown in the coming fiscal year.
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An assistant attorney general in the AGO s Division of Open Government notified the district and iBerkshires.com of the complaint s resolution via email on Monday afternoon. iBerkshires.com filed a complaint against the committee in July after it became apparent in an open session that the panel had discussed things in executive session that were beyond the stated purpose. Through its attorney, Westfield s Dupere Law Offices, the School Committee denied the allegation with a defense that addressed allegations not made in the complaint while ignoring the substance of the complaint itself. The complaint then went to the AGO for review.