BUCKLAND — After two years of having a third-party contractor provide its business management services, the Mohawk Trail Regional School District transitioned back to having a full-time business administrator.
The business administrator position was switched from a full-time job to a third-party contractor, TMS, in 2020. With the hiring of William Lataille in May, Mohawk Trail has switched back to having a person working full-time. The business administrator oversees the financial aspects of the district’s business office for all schools in the district.
“The third-party contract didn’t work,” said Martha Thurber, chair of the Mohawk Trail School Committee. “We need someone in the office every day who is familiar with our staff and our needs.”
Before Lataille’s current role, he worked in many other educational positions in other school districts. He started as a teacher and worked his way up to principal, vice principal and facilities director.
“It’s important that the role is being filled by someone who has worked their way through the system,” he said.
He pointed to how his experience informs his work, with the example that a budget must be ready by the start of the fiscal year on July 1. With the budget ready early, ordering can begin over the summer to be ready for the first day of classes. Without an early budget, supplies would not come in time.
“People in the school believe that Bill understands their needs,” Thurber said, “and tries to find ways to do what they want to do in a way we can afford, because he worked in the school system before.”
Lataille said he hopes to come into the position slowly and support the staff, with one of his main concerns being that “we can’t out-strap the communities.” He hopes to find a reasonable balance between residents’ rising tax rates and raising budgets to support school programming.
There have been talks of raising rural aid for schools statewide, a change that Lataille thinks will help with his job of balancing budgets. He also said the Mohawk Trail school district’s sustainability study will help plan the future of the schools.
“Meeting the needs of students and staff is hard because the towns are so small,” Lataille said.
Hailing from central Massachusetts, Lataille makes his commute across the state every day for work. He said he was previously familiar with the area, coming to the hilltowns for summer festivals and community events.
“I look forward to being part of the communities out here,” he said.
While Lataille pointed to the biggest challenge of meeting the needs for students and staff while keeping the cost to residents reasonable, he said Mohawk Trail’s veteran staff members help along the way.
“I am trying to take it slow,” he said, “meet people, and do my best to support the district.”
Contact Bella Levavi
at 413-930-4579 or
blevavi@recorder.com.