This blog is for residents and taxpayers to comment on various topics.   Comments should be constructive and free of personal attacks. 
I have put in a few topics, if you would like other please email me and I will add them, [email protected].

It has become increasingly clear that without additional state support for rural schools, which is currently meager versus the need, we will not be able to educate our children in a matter of years.  At the time of the Heath school closing, Hawlemont offered the best option for Heath children. There was a tuition agreement which worked well while the agreement was in place. Once that ended there was a great effort on the part of Heath to take the next step of regionalization with Hawlemont.  This could not be worked out at that time and Heath students now attend Rowe, Hawlemont, Colrain, Buckland Shelburne, and there may be one at Sanderson Academy.
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At the June 30 Select Board meeting Ashley Sparks, Charlemont School Sustainability Review Committee,  reached out to the Heath Select Board to explore the possibility of regionalization with Heath.

Your thoughts?
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Has every option been tried to lower our taxes?   What are some ideas/suggestions to help us? The proposed Franklin County Tech expansion and the MTRSD expansion will likely break our backs.  Should we seek an agreement with Rowe and/or Hawlemont?   Do we have the option to leave the district and just tuition our kids using school choice and creating tuition agreements with those chosen schools?

Where would you like the Select Board to focus?  List what you would like to see focused on?

How do you want to communicate with the Select Board? Send an email to [email protected]? Come to a Select Board meeting when there is a specific topic you would like to address? Other?

If you send an email to [email protected], do expect a response?  When the Select Board goes through mail at a meeting, would you expect more than, "Mail from a resident regarding . . . " ?
Should there be a form letter when corresponding that requests a response or that the matter be addresses at a Select Board Meeting

Do you feel that decisions are made outside of meetings? Do you have any instances where you think that may have happened.