Berkshire Hills school committee adopts letter urging state action on school funding

The Berkshire Hills Regional School District School Committee voted unanimously to adopt a letter to Governor Maura Healey and members of the Legislature calling for decisive fiscal-year 2027 action and use of available fair-share surplus funds to address a mounting school funding shortfall.

The letter, read aloud to the committee, urged remedies including strengthening the special education circuit breaker, fixing the Chapter 70 inflation cap, fully reimbursing student transportation for regional and nonregional districts, increasing rural aid, mitigating charter impacts on traditional public schools and investing in student mental-health staffing and programs. It framed those actions as necessary to preserve students’ constitutional right to a high-quality, fully funded public education.

Committee members moved to adopt the letter to be signed by the committee chair on behalf of the Berkshire Hills Regional School Committee; the motion carried on a roll-call vote with unanimous consent. Several members noted they had already signed the online petition and that adopting a letter jointly would amplify the district’s message to state decision-makers.

The adoption is procedural advocacy rather than a binding budget request; the letter asks state leaders to prioritize targeted budget fixes and to move with urgency in the FY2027 process. The committee did not direct staff to add new local spending as part of this vote.

What happens next: the committee will circulate the adopted letter to the governor’s office and legislative leaders and may supplement it with individual signatures or additional district correspondence, as members decide.