A1. What is the purpose and goal of the Sustainability Study?
The Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional School Districts acknowledge that the trends of declining enrollment, rising operational costs, relatively flat state aid, and increasing needs of our student body have made the districts’ current operations financially unsustainable. These trends are national but directly affect our communities, creating financial concerns for our school districts, our member towns and their taxpayers. As a result, the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional School Districts have embarked upon a Sustainability Study designed to help us create a path forward that maintains or enhances high quality education for all of our students and is affordable for our towns. All community members are invited to participate in this process and to review the reports, findings, and ideas generated. Always at the forefront of our minds is our district community - the staff and students who deserve our ongoing support and the taxpayers who fund these efforts. 

Please visit the 2 Districts 8 Towns website for information about this study.

A2. Haven’t we done sustainability studies before?
Over the past 30 years, a number of groups – formed by towns and/or by the school districts – have worked to find ways to improve the Districts’ overall financial sustainability. (For a review of these efforts and results, see THIS DOCUMENT.

While some progress has been made as a result, the issues of declining enrollment, rising costs and more than 20 years of virtually flat state aid have combined to make it urgent that we find ways to make the Districts’ operations more efficient and effective now.

A3. When was the Sustainability Study launched?
The Sustainability Study was originally launched in January 2024. The initial phase of the project concluded in the spring of 2025, with approval of a Plan of Action by the 2D8T Steering Committee and the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont School Committees. The current phase of the project began in September 2025.

A4. Which towns are involved in the study?
All 8 towns within our 2 districts are involved in the study - Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Hawley, Heath, Plainfield and Shelburne.

A5. How is the Sustainability Study funded?
Initial funding for the project ($250,000) came through a Massachusetts Community Compact Regionalization and Efficiency Grant, which the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional School Districts applied for and received in partnership with the Town of Charlemont. Using these funds, the Districts retained a highly experienced consultant – Berkshire Educational Resources K12 - to assist with the project. Follow-on funding has come from private donations ($115,000), legislative earmarks ($200,000).

No funds appropriated by towns have been used to pay for this project.

A6. Who is BERK12, and why was BERK12 chosen to conduct this study?  
BERK12 (Berkshire Educational Resources K12 ) was selected through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process directed by the Districts. The RFP response is available HERE.

BERK12 is a non-profit organization that brings educators and community partners together through collaborative projects, professional development, networking and advocacy, and research toward partnerships. BERK12’s team of independent consultants have worked as superintendents, principals, curriculum directors, teachers, financial analysts, and evaluation specialists. Team members have expertise and experience in the areas of project management and facilitation, data analysis, historical reviews, finance, website development, legal issues, educational quality, organization systems, operations, and facilities.  

Recent examples of BERK12’s work include:

• coordinating an annual professional development day that brings together educators and staff from all the school districts in Berkshire County;

• leading the multi-year Berkshire Portrait of a Graduate initiative, which brings together six high schools to integrate the competencies and skills that students need to succeed in education and career;

• facilitating the formation and work of the Regional School District Planning Board (RSDPB) in Southern Berkshire County, including modeling potential collaboration and regionalization options between the Berkshire HIlls and Southern Berkshire Regional School Districts and drafting a regional agreement for a combined school district — in that project, although four of the eight towns voted against combining districts, significant work was done to bring stakeholders together, identify their needs, create and analyze potential models for sustainability, and quantify benefits to the districts;

• creating a data dashboard that provides the most current school district data in Berkshire County. 

A7. Who is on the Steering Committee and Advisory Groups?
‍To work with BERK12 and oversee the project, the Districts formed the 2D8T Steering Committee. Current members of the Steering Committee, which includes one representative from each of the 8 member towns, can be found HERE. 

Advisory Groups were initially formed to review data and reports and provide input to the Steering Committee in the areas of Educational Quality, Finance, Facilities and Community Engagement.

A8. How were the Steering Committee and Advisory Groups chosen?
There was a call for Steering Committee volunteers (one from each of the 8 towns in the 2 Districts) early in the process.  Many selection decisions were based on availability, interest, timing and experience. Once the Steering Committee was in place, additional volunteers were invited to participate in Advisory Groups in their area(s) of interest.  Anyone could participate in Advisory Groups, which reviewed information and data developed by BERK12 and/or generated via community engagement sessions. Advisory Groups remain active in the areas of Finance and Community Engagement. Anyone is welcome to join these efforts by contacting BERK12 (contact at jakeeberwein@gmail.com).

B1. What were the stages of work involved in the Sustainability Study?

The Steering Committee and BERK12 have completed the study’s initial work plan, which included:

Stage 1. Organize work plan & Steering Committee, establish context of existing conditions, initial community engagement (Jan - May 2024)

Stage 2. Dive deeply into data and analysis across several functional domains (finance, educational quality, enrollment, buildings), generate a range of possible options and opportunities (May - Aug 2024)

Stage 3. Develop preferred (high potential) options that will be modeled and evaluated; gather additional community input and feedback; refine options and plan for next steps (Aug 2024 - April 2025)

The work in this initial phase of the project has included:

• formation of Steering Committee and Advisory Groups; 

• completion of in-depth reports and analysis of current operations, programs, financing and facilities;

• multiple opportunities for Community Engagement including multiple surveys to gather important feedback from those with varying perspectives;

• review of 177 ideas collected from community input, BERK12’s analyses and Steering Committee discussion;

• from these ideas, the Steering Committee generated a list of potential options for comprehensive modeling and review and BERK12 completed a detailed analysis of each option.

All reports, presentations, work plans, meeting minutes, and models can be found HERE.

B2. What options were modeled?  

Based on the reports and analysis completed by BERK 12 and the feedback received in multiple sessions with stakeholders – parents, students, staff, town officials and community members/taxpayers – the Steering Committee selected five options for in-depth modeling:

1.    No Change. Examine the status quo with projections into the near future if the districts remain as they are currently. No school closures. 

2.    Districts Merge. Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional School Districts become a single PK-12 regional school district with 8 towns. No school closures.

3.    Move 6th Grade. Move students to Mohawk Trail Regional School (MTRS), making it a grade 6-12 school with a 6-8 middle school. All elementary schools become PK-5. No school closures. 

4.    Move 6th grade (and possibly 5th) to MTRS and close one to three elementary schools. The three scenarios to be considered are closing one elementary school, closing two elementary schools, or having all elementary schools consolidate at the Buckland-Shelburne Elementary site. 

5.    Single Campus. All schools combine onto a single PreKindergarten-12 campus at MTRS. 

C: What Did the Modeling Tell Us?

All models and scenarios were examined across four critical variables including education, finance/personnel, facilities, and transportation.  High level findings included:

• The Districts have experienced ongoing enrollment decline and fiscal pressures.  While enrollment decline is likely to slow, fiscal pressures will likely increase as expenses continue to outpace revenues. These pressures will create ongoing budget gaps that will result in rising town assessments, reduction in educational programming and services – or both.

• Significant fiscal savings and efficiencies can be achieved through consolidation (fewer buildings, fewer staff and lower operating costs).  Operating savings range from up to $400,000 per year (vs. doing nothing) if the Districts continue to implement modest efficiencies, to as much as $5.3 million per year if there is consolidation of elementary schools and/or creation of a single PK-12 campus. Some of the models require new construction and/or renovation, the cost of which would offset some portion of these savings.

• Educational (academic/social/co-curricular) and professional experiences could be enhanced through consolidation efforts that combine grade cohorts into fewer buildings (or a single building). Larger cohorts of students and staff will give all students access to programs/services (including, potentially, unique programs such as the Sanderson’s Mexican Exchange or Hawlemont’s HAY program); the expansion of peer networks; and, if desired, the introduction of new programming, such as world languages in the elementary grades and more career pathways in the high school.

• While some consolidation models can be achieved in existing buildings, the larger scale options (significant school consolidation) will require facilities investments that are only achievable in partnership with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). Investments may range from light upgrades to renovation and/or new construction.  In several models/scenarios, the capital outlay could be offset by savings in operational costs resulting from the consolidation.  Construction involving partnership with the MSBA generally entails a timetable of 6-8 years.

• A single elementary school or a single campus offers the most significant potential to advance educational quality, solve acute fiscal issues, and provide flexibility for long-term/ongoing organizational adjustments. A single campus (achieved as renovation and/or new construction) could yield a contemporary PK-12 educational facility that efficiently utilizes existing resources, fully aligns current educational programming, creates broader opportunities to invest in additional programming, and offers flexibility for future decades.  

These findings were presented to the Steering Committee in February 2025 and discussed with the community during March and April 2025. Meetings were held at all four elementary schools and the Mohawk Trail Regional School, as well as, separately, with town officials of each town. Based on this feedback and on the Steering Committee’s review of BERK12’s analyses, the Steering Committee voted on April 16, 2025, to recommend a Plan of Action to be considered by both the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont School Committees.

D. What Did the Steering Committee Recommend?

On April 16, 2025, the Steering Committee voted 12-1 to recommend that the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont School Committees pursue the goal of organizing all students and staff onto a single campus (pre-K through Grade 12) on the Mohawk Trail Regional School (MTRS) campus. Both School Committees accepted this recommendation in the spring of 2025. 

This is an aspirational goal that can only be fully realized over a period of 5 -7 years. Thus, the Committee also recommended that the Districts transition to a centralized campus through the following phases:

Phase I

• Create a single district, merging Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont, with one school committee.

• Combine all Grade 6 students into a reorganized middle school (Grades 6-8) at MTRS.

• Consolidate some combination of elementary schools, with assignment of elementary students by geography (closest school) rather than strictly by town lines.

Phase II

• Complete the process to achieve significant reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority for any renovation and/or new construction necessary to accommodate all elementary students on the existing campus of the Mohawk Trail Regional School. 

• Move all elementary grades to the remodeled/newly constructed spaces on the MTRS campus.

The full Plan of Action recommended by the Steering Committee can be found here.

Following adoption of the Plan (and the approval of the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont School Committees), the Districts began the process for qualifying for MSBA reimbursement, as described above. The first phase of this process (“Eligibility”) is virtually complete. 

Moving to the next step will require that all District towns approve funding their share of a MSBA-required feasibility study. The MSBA will fund 60% of the expected $750,000-$900,000 costs of the study, with the towns sharing the remaining 40% ($300,00-$360,000) over a five-year period. (See below for more information.)

In addition, BERK12 has taken a more in-depth look at a number of concerns identified in community engagement sessions as being especially important to stakeholders:

• Educational visioning - Drawing upon earlier work that provided an in-depth review of current educational programming at the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont schools, the Educational Visioning Advisory Group – composed of parents, teachers, administrators and community members – collaborated over several months to develop an Educational Vision for the new consolidated district. The plan encompasses both ideas for immediate implementation and possibilities for consideration at the elementary (PK-5), middle school (6-8) and high school levels (9-12).

• Transportation – An updated Transportation Analysis  (March 2026) provided detail on potential travel times for students attending a consolidated campus at Mohawk Trail Regional School. The focus was understanding how many younger students (Grades K-3) potentially might face a ride time in excess of 45 minutes and how this length of ride might be reduced. 

• Finance – BERK12 is currently working to update its in-depth look at the operational savings to be achieved by implementing the Plan of Action, taking into account two additional years of actual operating data from the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Districts. This analysis will indicate the extent to which towns can realize operating savings from consolidation and use these savings to pay for the needed construction/renovation project. The revised analysis will be available in mid-December 2026.

• Impact of School Closures – To better understand the potential economic and social impacts of school closures on district towns, the Steering Committee and BERK12 retained Hanover Research, a group with significant experience in analyzing issues affecting K-12 education. Looking a communities similar to our 8 towns, Hanover is focusing specifically on the impacts of school closure/consolidation on economic growth and community cohesion, as well as on the re-use of school buildings. Hanover’s reports are expected in in November 2026.

• Transition – The Steering Committee is working to develop a detailed plan and timeline that will result in creation of the single campus.

• Enrollment - Updated enrollment analyses were conducted and can be found HERE (Nov. 2025) and HERE (March 2026). 

• Facilities - A updated facilities report was completed in July 2026 and can be found HERE.

The Steering Committee has continued to meet regularly to review completed tasks, discuss the work in progress and, as necessary, adjust the timeline for realizing the vision of a consolidated campus. There will continue to be multiple opportunities for input and feedback from all constituencies

E2. What is a feasibility study? Why do we need it?
The feasibility study is a required part of the process by which the MSBA will reimburse us for a significant portion of the costs of creating the consolidated campus. Conducted by a team of architects and engineers, the study will begin with meetings to discuss with community members what they want the campus to look like and feel like. For example, should there be non-traditional classroom spaces and outdoor learning areas? What spaces should be shared with/not accessible to older students? What’s important to consider in bus/parent pick-up and drop-off areas? How important is natural light in classrooms and common areas? Taking this input into consideration, the team will develop several design and cost options for community consideration and discussion. Ultimately, the School Building Committee will select what it deems the most cost-effective and educationally appropriate option.

E.3 Who ultimately decides ?
What happens will ultimately be up to voters in the 8 district towns. 

• In the first instance, voters will have to appropriate funds for the feasibility study and, later on, funds to pay any construction or renovation costs not reimbursed by the MSBA.

• Additionally, a new Regional Agreement will be required to create a combined Mohawk Trail/Hawlemont Regional District and to define how that District will operate, including, e.g, what schools will be operated by the District, the composition of the new School Committee, and how operating and capital assessments to member towns will be apportioned.

THESE REQUIRE THE UNANIMOUS APPROVAL OF VOTERS IN ALL 8 TOWNS