BUCKLAND — The 2 District, 8 Town Steering Committee, or 2D8T, voted to recommend further exploration of a single-campus model to restructure the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional school districts.

After weeks of discussion on the results of the sustainability study conducted by the Pittsfield-based Berkshire Educational Resources K-12 (BERK12) and review of public input, committee members voted Wednesday to recommend the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont school committees pursue an “aspirational goal” of bringing all of the two districts’ staff members and students in preschool through 12th grade together on a single Mohawk Trail Campus.

If the two school committees agree, the steering committee and BERK12 plan to spend the next year creating a more detailed plan outlining the specific steps and phases needed to reach that goal and write an amended regional agreement that can be presented to voters. If the work can be completed in time, this would be done at a Special Town Meeting next fall.

“This is a recommendation from the steering committee to the school committees to fine-tune what the next really in-depth explorations are,” Heath representative Budge Litchfield said.

Over the past three weeks of discussion, committee members said the fiscal reality was that simply merging the districts and moving the sixth grade to the middle school would not produce enough cost savings, and even if the districts opted to close an elementary school or two, it will only give them a few years before being faced with this choice once again. Increasing costs and stagnant state aid would catch up to the districts again. Creating a single campus would create the most cost savings, between $3.4 million and $5.3 million, and the most possibilities for educational improvements.

Committee members added that they were pleasantly surprised that during public outreach sessions held over the past couple months, residents have not expressed that closing schools is out of the question. Mary Nash, a member of the BERK12 team, said there were a total of 336 community members who attended the outreach sessions, and 110 community members filled out a survey asking which model to proceed with.

The most promising model among survey respondents was the fifth model: a single campus. Of the respondents, 38% said this model would be most likely to retain students in the district, 55% said this model showed the most promise for ensuring fiscal sustainability, and 50% said it showed the most promise for maintaining and improving educational quality.

Nash added that a student focus group consisting of six Mohawk Trail students agreed that sixth grade should be moved to the middle school, and four of the six students voted for a single campus.

“What you can take from this is that people want to see some changes,” Nash said.

The steering committee voted to pursue a single campus, with the only dissenting vote coming from Buckland representative Paula Consolo, who said the capital requirements to renovate Mohawk Trail Regional School or construct a new building that could accommodate all students and staff would be more than the towns could afford, and would eat up any remaining dollars for other projects, such as roadwork or infrastructure for senior citizens.

According to the BERK12 report, renovating the school could cost anywhere from $51.5 million to $110.3 million, and constructing a new school could cost between $100 million and $145 million. The Massachusetts School Building Authority could pay for as much as 80% of the project.

“We’re already up against the levy,” Consolo said. “I think the problem is the towns have no money. If we go with an $80 million school project, the towns won’t have money for a senior center. … A 30-year solution is the state changing the formula. This is a 10-year solution.”

For fiscal year 2026, Buckland’s proposed budget leaves just $5,000 in excess levy capacity.

The resolution signed by the steering committee states the districts should pursue a merged single campus district, with the understanding it may only be possible when changes are implemented in phases over several years. The next steps for the two districts will involve outlining what each of those phases would entail, which of the schools would close and when, and conducting further research that will answer questions raised by community members during the outreach sessions. Questions from residents pertained to capital costs and impacts on town assessments, changes to bus routes and timelines, and what programs and educational benefits could be seen.

“We could get stuck in a perpetual study that goes on for many, many years and not answer every detail,” BERK12 Project Manager Jake Eberwein said.

Committee members said the goal is not to end up in a never-ending study, but to ensure the questions voters will ask are properly considered. To change the regional agreement and proceed with the steps that would lead to a single campus, every member town would need to agree.

“Every single element has to have a purpose, because if even one little part doesn’t have a purpose, all it takes is one group saying no for this all to fall apart,” Ashfield resident and Mohawk Trail Athletic Director Greg Lilly said.

“We have to figure out what’s special about each school and make sure we’re not accidentally deleting it,” Hawley representative Ellen Purinton added.

The Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont school committees will review the resolution and either accept the steering committee’s recommendations or send the 2D8T back to the drawing board.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.