COLRAIN — After contentious discussion, Colrain voters narrowly struck down the proposed $2.78 million operating assessment for the Mohawk Trail Regional School District, with 44 residents voting in favor and 48 votes against.
This vote from Tuesday’s Annual Town Meeting marks a division within the school district’s member towns, with Buckland having rejected its Mohawk Trail assessment and Shelburne having voted to approve its assessment in the same evening.
“When I moved in, in 1996, we had a concern about the school, and the man sitting next to me said we had a decline in enrollment and we needed to consolidate. And that was 30 years ago, and nothing has happened yet,” said Paula Harrison, who serves as Colrain’s collector/treasurer. “The budget is unsustainable. … But I don’t think the state will ever get the message [that] schools in rural communities need additional aid, unfortunately, unless the towns start to vote the budget down.”
Members of the Finance Committee echoed Harrison’s concern. Article 7, pertaining to the school assessment, did not receive the committee’s recommendation.
“It just isn’t sustainable,” Douglas MacLeay said on behalf of the Finance Committee. “We can’t keep doing this. We’re bare-bonesing this year’s budget.”
Mohawk Trail Regional School District Superintendent Sheryl Stanton explained that there has been a substantial increase in fixed costs, particularly for out-of-district special education placements and special education transportation.
“These are expenses that we really do not have control over,” Stanton said.
In addition, she explained that the school district has revolving expense accounts it uses to keep costs to the towns down, which have been overused.
“We are at the point where, as a school department, we can no longer rely on use of all the accounts to keep our assessments low,” Stanton said.
The Mohawk Trail School Committee approved a $28.9 million budget for fiscal year 2027 back in February, sending the numbers on to the eight member towns. The proposed budget represents a 6.24% increase over fiscal year 2026, and a 7.53% increase in local assessments, and means cutting numerous teaching positions and paraprofessionals.
Stanton explained that if the majority of the eight member towns do not pass the budget and Mohawk Trail is unable to present an alternative budget that gets sufficient member town approval, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) would implement a one-twelfth budget, meaning the school district would budget month to month based on the previous fiscal year’s figures.
“As a teacher at Colrain [Central School], and with two kids in the school … I worry that a one-twelfth budget would have catastrophic effects on my kids’ education,” Lena Jillson said.
Colrain’s total budget, including education, sits at $5.6 million. Education funding (consisting of the Mohawk Trail and Franklin County Technical School operating and capital assessments) represents 58% of the budget. The Mohawk Trail capital assessment is $68,379 and Franklin Tech’s is $4,808.
Colrain’s omnibus budget for FY27, outlined in Article 4, is $2.34 million, seeing only a $5,214, or 0.22%, increase over FY26.
Other articles
All other articles on the 25-article warrant were approved with no amendments during the roughly two-hour meeting, including a citizen’s petition, brought forward by resident David Greenberg, that sought town support for a nonbinding resolution in favor of “An Act Establishing Medicare for All in Massachusetts” (S.860/H.1405).
The resolution explains, “Access to health care has become one of the biggest political issues of the day and is of great concern to ourselves and our neighbors … and whereas there is an alternative means of providing health care for all … therefore be it resolved that the town of Colrain endorses [“An Act Establishing Medicare for All”] and will communicate its support to our state representative and state senator.”
Article 15 asked the town to transfer $85,000 from the Highway Vehicle Stabilization Fund, and Article 16 asked to raise and appropriate or transfer from free cash $10,000 to buy a snowplow. Both articles, which were approved, related to the rehabilitation and restoration of a 2001 International Chassis for use as a highway vehicle.
Another approved article officially replaced the terms “Board of Selectmen” and “selectman” with “Select Board” and “selectperson” in Colrain’s zoning bylaws. Although the town had previously voted in favor of the change, officials had failed to record whether the vote had achieved the necessary two-thirds majority.