FAQ

Tuesday, November 4th is Election Day in Great Barrington, Stockbridge and West Stockbridge, with polls open from 11 am to 7 pm. Voters will have two separate questions and two separate ballots on which to vote YES or NO. Question one will be a district-wide vote, counted in aggregate. Question 2 will be a town-by-town vote.

Question 1: Approval of funds

Question 1 is the district ballot, asking voters to vote yes or no on the proposal put forward by the BHRSD School Committee for the construction of a new high school building.

It will ask residents:

“Do you approve of the vote of the Regional District School Committee of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District, adopted on September 11, 2025, to authorize the borrowing of $152,067,064 to pay costs of designing, constructing, originally equipping and furnishing a new District high school to be located at 600 Stockbridge Road in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, including the payment of all costs incidental or related thereto, which vote provides, in part, as follows:”

The full text of the vote undertaken by the BHRSD School Committee on September 11^th 2025 to approve the vote will follow, with “yes” and “no” boxes below.

A yes vote is a vote to approve the District’s proposal as presented.

A no vote is a vote to reject the District’s proposal as presented.

Please note that the ballot question will include the TOTAL amount of money for a new high school building, which is $152,067,064.00.

Taxpayers in the three district towns are NOT being asked to pay this amount. The MSBA (Massachusetts School Building Association) is covering $61 million of this total. Taxpayers will be responsible for $89,457,399 with Mass Save contributing $1.6 million in energy incentives.

Question 2: Proposition 2 ½ Exclusion

Question 2 is the town ballot to authorize a debt exclusion that will allow for the funding of the high school building.

This asks residents:

“Shall the town of _______________ be allowed to exempt from the provision of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay the Town’s allocable share of the bond issued by the Berkshire Hills Regional School District for the purpose of paying costs to replace the existing Monument Mountain Regional High School with a new facility serving students in grades 9-12 on the site of the existing school, including the payment of all costs incidental or related thereto?”

Links to full warrants: 

• Great Barrington
• Stockbridge
• West Stockbridge

If you are traveling out of the area on November 4^th, you can request an absentee ballot for each question. The last day to request an absentee ballot is October 28^th, 2025, at 5:00 pm.

Click here for an Absentee ballot application.

Early in-Person voting will not be available.

Early voting by mail is only available for Question 2, the town ballot, not for Question 1, district ballot. Mail-in votes must be received by 8 pm on November 4th at Town Hall to be counted that evening.

• Last Day to register to Vote: October 24th
• Last Day to request Absentee mail-in ballots: October 28th  by 5 PM
• Last Day to absentee in-person vote on the Town ballot: November 3rd  by 12 noon

Share this information using this link: https://monumentbuildingproject.org/november-4th-is-election-day/ 

The three district towns and the state of Massachusetts have various programs to help people offset their tax burdens.

Great Barrington

Senior Tax Work-Off Abatement Program
This program allows senior citizens to volunteer for their municipality in exchange for a property tax reduction.

• Maximum abatement: $1,500 per person per year
• Earnings: The credit is based on the state’s minimum wage. To receive the full amount, participants must work a minimum number of hours, determined by dividing the maximum credit by the hourly wage.
• Please fill out this application to see if you are eligible for this program.

Other local exemptions:

• Veterans’ Application
• Seniors’ Application
• Surviving Spouse or Minor
• Application for the Blind

For more information, contact the Town of Great Barrington Assessor’s Office at 413-528-1619, press 2, then 3.

Stockbridge

1. Senior Tax Abatement Program
   The Senior Property Tax Work-Off Program is open to adults 60 years of age and older who own and occupy their principal residence in Stockbridge and pay real estate taxes to the town.
   (Participants must be Stockbridge residents for at least one year and reside at the property at least eight months per year.)
   • No income eligibility requirements
   • Credit computed at the Massachusetts minimum wage rate (currently $15.00/hour)
   • Maximum of $1,500 per fiscal year per household
   • To receive the full $1,500, participants must work 100 hours

Aid for the Elderly application

These programs are managed by the Stockbridge Select Board.

2. Application for veterans, blind, surviving spouse, and minor exemptions

For more information, contact the Town Assessor’s Office in Stockbridge at 413-298-4170, extension 254.

West Stockbridge

To learn more about the following benefit programs, contact the West Stockbridge Assessor’s Office at 413-232-0300, extension 302.

2026 Property Tax Exemptions Available to Qualifying West Stockbridge Residents

Elderly (Clause 41C½)

• Age 65 by July 1
• Exemption Amount: $1,000
• Income Limit (Circuit Breaker amount): $72,000
  • Includes all income sources: wages, Social Security, pensions, interest, dividends, rents, etc.

Veterans

• V1 Clause 22: 10% or more service-connected disability — $800
• V2 Clause 22D: Surviving spouses of veterans with service-related death — Full exemption
• V3 Clause 22E: 100% service-connected disability — $1,000
  • Disability certificates must be provided by the Veterans Administration.

Blind (Clause 37A)

• Must be registered with the Division of the Blind — $500
  • Certificate must be provided yearly.
  • Qualification date: July 1.

State Tax Abatement Programs

Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit
A refundable state income tax credit for seniors whose property tax (or rent) is high relative to their income.

Talk to an accountant for guidance on how to access this program.

• Maximum credit (2024): $2,730
• Eligibility (for tax year 2024):
  • Age 65 or older by December 31
  • Income limit:
    • Single filer ≤ $72,000
    • Married filing jointly ≤ $109,000
  • Property value: Assessed value must not exceed $1,172,000
  • Threshold: Property tax payments plus half of water and sewer charges must exceed 10% of total Massachusetts income

At its August 26 meeting, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Board of Directors voted to approve the Scope & Budget Agreement for the Monument Mountain Regional High School (MMRHS) Building Project. This marks a major step forward toward a new $152 million high school, with the MSBA committing about $60 million in funding, which could increase to just over $61 million depending on final project approvals. The project is also expected to receive $1.6 million in incentives from Mass Save.

The District’s local share remains set at $89 million within the approved $152 million project budget. If contingency funds are used but deemed ineligible for reimbursement, they would be covered within the District’s share; only costs above the total $152 million would require additional local approval.

Please see more details on our cost page. 

Access the tax impact calculator here.

This calculator is designed to help you estimate the potential tax impact of voting in favor of funding a new high school.

To get started, select your town and enter the assessed value of your home. The estimated annual tax increase will auto-populate. To find your home’s assessed value, follow the instructions for each town.

The project cost was established through a multi-step process during the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design phases, with oversight from the School Building Committee and the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). At each stage, estimates became more refined as the design developed and reimbursement amounts were confirmed.

As part of the Feasibility Study, the Committee reviewed multiple options — including repair-only, renovation/addition, and new construction. Repair and renovation options were more expensive for the local community, more disruptive, and offered limited educational benefit. After careful analysis, the Committee selected new construction as the most cost-effective and least disruptive long-term solution.

• Preliminary Estimate (PDP, July 2024): The project was initially estimated at about $180M using a Construction Manager delivery method. This early figure was conservative and intended to capture the broadest possible scope.
  Preferred Solution Estimate (December 2024): With a shift to the MSBA-required Design-Bid-Build method and a more defined scope, the cost estimate dropped to about $154.5M for a 140,000 SF building.
• Schematic Design Estimate (June 2025): With the design further refined to 142,800 SF, the final project budget was set at $152.6M. This includes construction, professional services, demolition of the existing school, contingencies, and required studies.
• MSBA Reimbursement Update (August  2025): The MSBA reviewed the project and reimbursement was confirmed at $61M, plus $1.6M in MassSave energy incentives, bringing the local share to about $89.9M.

This $152.6M budget is a set, all-inclusive figure that cannot be exceeded under state law.

School construction is expensive due to modern building codes, safety, and accessibility requirements. Costs also reflect specialized spaces like vocational programs. The $152M budget is all-inclusive (design, demolition, contingencies), and the MSBA will contribute nearly $60M, reducing the local share to $89M.

The full Schematic Design estimate can be found on the documents section of our project website.

Throughout the project, the School Building Committee (SBC) has been mindful of the financial impact of the project to today’s taxpayers while planning a school that meets the educational program and will serve the district for the next 50-100 years.

The SBC recently secured an additional $6M of state funding through the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). Partnering with the MSBA will lower the local tax impact by approximately $61M. The SBC has also partnered with MassSave for a $1.5M incentive, and is pursuing the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center EmPower Grant, which would result in up to $5M of additional funding—resulting in a total of $67.5M in grant awards for the project.

In December 2024, after a thoughtful review of the renovation/addition and new construction options, the School Building Committee elected to move forward with Alternative 3E, a new 3-story, building to the west of the existing building.  The compact design provides an efficient building footprint and allows for shorter construction duration, saving the district on temporary phasing and construction escalation. The reuse of the existing parking lot in the site design was another consideration that reduced the overall cost.

The SBC has decided to bid the project as Chapter 149, Design-Bid-Build (DBB), assuring that the General Contractor with the lowest bid price will be awarded the project in a competitive bid environment.

The MSBA grant amount will be finalized at the end of August, and the local tax impact calculator will be available in September. If the project is approved by local voters on November 4, 2025, the Design Development phase will proceed, and cost-savings measures will be evaluated at each design milestone leading up to construction ensuring the project is on budget and there are opportunities to lower the project cost.

The total project budget is based on the Schematic Design cost estimate for the preferred design option, New Construction – Alternative 3E.

• Schematic Design Submission (June 26, 2025):
  • Section 16: Total Project Budget
  • Section 17: Cost Estimate

Prior to the Schematic Design of New Construction Alternative 3E, the Preferred Schematic Report (PSR), dated December 19, 2025 included cost estimates for all alternates:

• Code Upgrade/Base Repair – Alternative 1 
• Renovation/Addition – Alternative 2C 
• New Construction – Alternative 3E (Preferred Solution)
• New Construction – Alternative 3H 

Detailed cost estimates for these alternatives can be found in the PSR 03 Final Evaluation of Alternatives, starting on page 158. 

After a thorough review of all options, the School Building Committee elected to move forward with Alternative 3E, a new 3-story, 140,500 SF school to the west of the existing building, designed to serve 485 students.

The cost to heat and cool the new, all-electric building is projected to be $209,000 annually.

The existing school’s gas and electricity cost annually is approximately $245,000.

It will cost approximately the same to heat and cool a larger building that provides heating, cooling and ventilation for the staff and students.

The project is being advanced with a total budget of $152 million. The District’s local share of $89 million (the portion funded by taxpayers) is capped by the borrowing authorization that voters are being asked to approve. Once this amount is approved, the District does not plan to return to voters for additional funds.

The project budget includes built-in contingencies and opportunities for value engineering to address changes in construction costs and stay within budget. In the very unlikely event that costs exceeded those safeguards, the only way to increase taxpayer funding would be through a separate debt-exclusion vote, requiring new approval from all three towns.

If the project is approved on November 4th, the District will move forward with borrowing funds for the project. Borrowing may occur in stages, depending on interest rates, but once approved, the project budget cannot increase without additional local approvals.

Construction will tentatively begin in 2027, with the new building expected to open in fall 2029. The new high school will be located on the current site, outside of the existing school’s footprint, which allows the current building to remain fully operational during construction.

If the project is not approved, the district will lose its funding opportunity with the MSBA.

The existing school still requires extensive repairs, and even partial fixes such as a new roof or heating system would trigger full code upgrades (accessibility and sprinklers throughout). These costs would fall entirely on local taxpayers with no MSBA reimbursement and would be the most disruptive option for students and staff over many years, while still resulting in a school that does not meet the educational needs of our programs and students.

March 2022
Berkshire Hills Regional School District (BHRSD) submitted a Statement of Interest (SOI) to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), the state agency that partners with districts to fund public school construction projects. The SOI was accepted into the MSBA’s competitive pipeline, marking the critical first step toward pursuing a new high school building for Monument Mountain.

Fall 2022
BHRSD formed a Monument Mountain Regional High School Building Committee, composed of district leaders, educators, and community stakeholders, to guide the project through the MSBA process.

June 2023
The School Committee approved funding for the Feasibility Study, a required MSBA phase to evaluate educational, site, and cost options and determine the most appropriate and cost-effective solution—whether a renovation, addition/renovation, or new construction.

Early 2024
The Building Committee hired Skanska USA Building, Inc. as the Owner’s Project Manager and, through the MSBA Designer Selection Panel process, selected DiNisco Design as the project’s architectural design team.

Spring 2024
As design work began, the district invited community input through Educational Visioning sessions, focus groups, and public forums, helping shape design priorities and ensure the new high school reflects community values.
🎥 Watch the community presentation here

July 2024
The Building Committee submitted the Preliminary Design Program (PDP) to the MSBA.
This milestone included:

• An Educational Program written by district leadership with input from educators and the design team

• A Space Summary comparing current facilities to MSBA standards

• Existing Conditions Reports and design parameters

• Evaluation of a range of design alternatives

November 2024
The Building Committee submitted the Preferred Schematic Report (PSR) to the MSBA and voted to pursue a Design-Bid-Build construction delivery method.
The PSR included:

• A final evaluation of site and design alternatives

• Updated cost estimates and project budgets

• A proposed project design and construction schedule

• A 10-year capital and operating plan

December 2024
The Committee voted to move forward with Design Option 3E — a new, three-story, 140,500-square-foot high school to be built west of the existing building.
This design:

• Accommodates the MSBA-approved enrollment of 485 students

• Minimizes disruption to students during construction

• Creates an efficient, sustainable building footprint

• Enhances educational opportunities and community use

June 2025
The Building Committee voted to submit the Schematic Design and Total Project Budget to the MSBA, totaling $152 million.
The submission reflected detailed cost estimates, energy modeling, and community feedback gathered throughout the design process.

August 27, 2025
The MSBA Board of Directors formally approved the Monument Mountain Regional High School Project and the associated grant reimbursement. This approval authorized the district to proceed to a local funding vote.

Next Step: November 4, 2025 District-Wide Vote
On Tuesday, November 4, residents of Great Barrington, Stockbridge, and West Stockbridge will vote on whether to approve funding for a new Monument Mountain Regional High School.
If approved by a majority of voters across all three towns, the project will move forward into final design and construction documents beginning in early 2026.

For more information on the November 4th election, read a full release here.

For more information on the project timeline beyond the November 4 vote, see the Timeline & Schedule page.

On November 4, residents of the three district towns will vote on the project. If it’s successful the project will then enter the design development phase, with construction to tentatively begin in 2027, and the new building expected to open in the fall of 2029. The new high school will be located outside of the existing school’s footprint, allowing for the high school to remain fully operational during construction. Incoming fourth graders at Du Bois Middle School, will be the first class to attend the new campus for all four years of high school.

As part of the Preferred Schematic Report (PSR) submitted on December 19, 2025, the School Building Committee studied a range of options, including a repair-only “Code Upgrade/Base Repair” approach, addition/renovation, and new construction.

Repair-Only Option (Alternative 1): Estimated at $89 million includes necessary repairs and replacements of the existing school, couple with code compliance upgrades. The MSBA does not reimburse repair-only projects, so the entire cost would have fallen on local taxpayers. To carry out this work in an occupied school, we would need to lease or purchase approximately 12 modular classrooms at approximately $1 million per year. The work would be significantly disruptive and would take many years to complete. In addition, the modular classrooms are not designed to accommodate specialized programs such as automotive, advanced manufacturing, art, and music, meaning students in those programs would face years of compromised educational environments.

Renovation / Addition Option: The cost of the renovation / addition is similar to that of new construction, however there would be significant amount of disruption to the school over many years. This option would not improve site circulation or provide an improved, new practice field when compared to new construction.

New Construction (Alternative 3E): A new 3-story, 140,500 SF school located west of the existing building, designed for 485 students. This option was found to be the cost-efficient, least disruptive, and most effective long-term solution for the district.

After reviewing all alternatives, the School Building Committee voted to advance Alternative 3E into Schematic Design.

Bottom Line: New school delivers state funding + modern facility, while keeping local share the same as repairs.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) requires every project to go through a detailed enrollment study. This process looks at historic enrollment trends, birth rates, local housing growth, and program requirements such as Career/Vocational Technical Education (CVTE). Based on this analysis, the MSBA determined that Monument Mountain should be designed for 485 students.

This number ensures the new school will be large enough to meet current and future needs, while avoiding the cost of overbuilding. The MSBA has a strong track record of getting enrollment projections right, and it is in their interest to size schools accurately so they can allocate resources fairly across the Commonwealth.

While current in-district enrollment is somewhat lower, the projection also accounts for students the district is obligated to serve (such as special education outplacements who may return, or students currently enrolled in parochial or home schools). It also anticipates growth in CVTE programs, which expand access and opportunity for local students.

485 is not an inflated number, it reflects a careful, state-run process designed to balance present conditions with future needs.

For more details on the MSBA Enrollment Methodology, please see their website. 

The 2022 full enrollment study documents can be found here: 

• MSBA Design Enrollment Letter – dated March 15, 2023
• NESDEC BHRSD Enrollment Study – dated March 15, 2022

The new building will be built entirely outside of the footprint of the existing building, so Monument Mountain will be 100% operational during all phases of construction. When the new building is complete in 2029, students will move into the new building and demolition of the old school will begin. The cost of the demolition has been factored into the total project budget as presented by the Building Committee, and there will be no additional costs associated with demolition. The current building site will be transformed into additional parking and an athletic practice field.

The School Building Committee has hosted 3 Community Visioning Sessions 10 Community Information Sessions and to date.

In addition to the September 16 Community Forum, the Building Committee and project team will host a series of smaller community-based information sessions in October. These meetings provide another chance to review the final design, cost, and tax impact information ahead of the November 4 district-wide vote, and to ask questions in a conversational setting.

📍 West Stockbridge Public Library
🗓 Monday, October 6 · 6:30–7:30 PM

📍 Mason Public Library, 231 Main St, Great Barrington
🗓 Tuesday, October 7 · 4:30–5:30 PM

📍 Stockbridge Public Library, 46 Main Street, Stockbridge
🗓 Tuesday, October 7 · 6:30–7:30 PM

📍 Ramsdell Public Library, 1087 Main St, Housatonic
🗓 Wednesday, October 15 · 4:30–5:30 PM

📍 Claire Teague Senior Center, 917 Main St, Great Barrington
🗓️ Thursday, October 16 · 12:30–1:30 PM (refreshments provided)

All residents are welcome to attend the session most convenient to them. Each meeting will include a project update, a review of the final design and financial details, and time for community Q&A.

Recordings and meeting materials from previous community presentations can be found here. Watch our most recent community forum on YouTube curtesy of CTSB:

Monument Mountain was built in 1968 and, while the building has been well-maintained, it is now obsolete, and no longer meets educational, technological, security or sustainability standards. Its air quality, fire protection and accessibility features do not meet today’s standards. The science labs are undersized, the library and ten classrooms have no windows. The garage, housing the school’s very popular Automotive vocational program, is, according to Donna DiNisco, the project architect, “one half the size it needs to be.” There’s no room for students to sit down and receive instruction, and the space and its infrastructure, like much else in Monument as it is, have been grandfathered in so as to continue to operate despite its inadequacies.

Several other Berkshire County high schools built in the same era, such as Taconic, Wahconah, and Mount Greylock, have been completely rebuilt or significantly renovated over the last decade, and Berkshire Hills Regional School District replaced its elementary and middle schools twenty years ago.

Compared to other schools in the state and within our own district, Monument is an outdated, inefficient and inadequate facility.

Fifteen years ago, the district first started considering options for renovating or replacing MMRHS, and submitted proposals to the Massachusetts School Building Administration (MSBA) for support. In 2014, two subsequent proposals were rejected by Great Barrington voters. In the years since, the high school has continued to age and building costs have continued to rise.

BHRSD has been very fortunate to be re-accepted into MSBA’s highly competitive program, which means we are eligible for reimbursement of tens of millions in project costs. In 2025 voters will have a third opportunity to support a project partially funded by the MSBA.

This idea has been considered, studied at length, and rejected. 

Starting in 2020, an 8-Town Board of community volunteers, including representatives of all eight towns of BHRSD and Southern Berkshire Regional School Districts. took up a three-year study of the feasibility of merging the two districts’ high schools. They held 180 public meetings. In October 2023,each of the eight towns voted on the board’s proposal to merge Mount Everett and Monument Mountain High Schools. All three of Berkshire Hills’ towns voted in favor of the plan, as did Alford, but four of the five SBRSD towns rejected it.

The idea of merging high schools was settled by that outcome. 

BHRSD has too many students to outsource to neighboring high schools. No one of the small high schools in Lee, Lenox or SBRSD could accommodate nearly three hundred resident 9-12 students, so BHRSD’s high school students would most likely be divided between the three schools. This would be politically, logistically and educationally challenging, if not practically impossible.

In addition, our towns have a deep history of pride in, and connection to, Monument Mountain High School. It is a central source of community identity in South Berkshire County.

At its May 1st meeting, the School Committee unanimously voted to accept school choice students again for the 2025-2026 school year.  This is because Berkshire Hill has been accepting school choice students for close to three decades, a practice that has brought tremendous educational benefits to our students and has provided tax relief to taxpayers in our three towns.

Through the school choice law any Massachusetts town can apply to transfer to a school outside of their home district. If they’re accepted, the sending town pays $5,000 plus any additional special education costs. That amount was set out in 1991 in a law enacted through by Massachusetts General Laws ch. 76, Section 12B(4)(f), which states, “Said tuition amount shall be equal to seventy-five percent of the actual per pupil spending amount in the receiving district for such education as is required by such non-resident student, but not more than five thousand dollars.”

The $5,000 that follows choice students might seem unfairly low compared to the quality of education they receive and the amount Berkshire Hills assesses its towns. But adding more student to a classroom doesn’t increase costs proportionally. Most educational costs are fixed, meaning that the building is already there, the teacher is already being paid, the infrastructural systems are already running, and the staff are already employed.

For most school districts with available capacity, the incremental cost of taking on a few more students is substantially less than the average per-pupil cost. If a given classroom has 16 students and adds a 17th, the district incurs minimal additional expenses. This means that the $5,000 that follows a choice student is a net financial benefit to the receiving district, which translates directly into tax savings for member towns.

Last year we realized about $1,250,000 in school choice revenue and about $725,000 in tuition revenue which was applied to offset this year’s assessment. In 2024 school choice and tuition revenue reduced the three towns’ assessments by almost $2,000,000 (Great Barrington $1,493,976, Stockbridge $265,060, and West Stockbridge $240,964).

For more context on school choice, here are the three other mechanisms through which Massachusetts students can move from school to school within the state.

Tuition Agreements. Students living in local towns that do not offer upper middle school grades or a high school can apply to BHRSD through tuition agreements. Their town pays $11,000-$13,000, depending on the agreement, with most lasting three to five years. Berkshire Hills has agreements with Richmond and Farmington River, which includes Otis and Sandisfield. Richmond’s provides for 4% annual increases and is up for an increase in 2026. Our agreement with Farmington River is up for an increase in 2028. (It initially increased at around 5% per year but now goes up 3% per year.) The last few times these agreements came up for renewal, BHRSD successfully negotiated increases and expects to do so again in the future.

CVTE (Career, Vocational and Technical Education): Students interested in pursuing CVTE tracks may apply to transfer to a school with state-approved CVTE programs. BHRSD sends out and receives in students for vocational opportunities. The cost is roughly $18,000 per student, plus transportation. Sending towns cover this cost, so they are not taken out of the BHRSD budget.

Charter and Virtual Schools: Students who live in the BHRSD towns can also apply to attend virtual or charter schools. The cost of those programs is $13,000-$25,000, and the cost must be covered by the sending district.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) is a quasi-independent state authority that supports communities across the Commonwealth in creating educationally appropriate, cost effective, sustainable, and energy efficient schools. It provides taxpayers significant reimbursements for school construction projects. The MSBA derives its revenue from the state sales tax. 

BHRSD is now following MSBA’s prescribed schedule, process and design requirements in order to benefit from up to 48% reimbursement for eligible project costs, translating to tens of millions in state aid. 

BHRSD was accepted into the MSBA’s program more than ten years ago, but the town of Great Barrington voted against the proposed project in 2013 and 2014. In 2022 MMRHS was once again accepted, based on its urgent need. 

Every year, the MSBA accepts a small handful of school districts into the program that subsidizes the cost of renovating or building a new school. 

Based on the last six years of data, MSBA received about 60-65 Statements Of Interest and accepted 10-12, translating to a 15-20% acceptance rate. In 2022 the MSBA selected MMRHS as one of only 10 schools out of 54, based on its urgent need. 

MSBA’s core program has become more competitive in recent years as 1960s-era school facilities age out, construction costs sharply rise, and the MSBA’s state sales tax revenue has decreased. In 2022 sales tax revenue was 1.65% lower than the previous year, representing a loss of roughly $400M of MSBA grant funding.

This decrease in MSBA revenue is significantly impacting the number of invited districts. It is creating a ripple effect for future applications, making the program more and more selective each year.

The MSBA’s grants are distributed based on need and urgency (e.g., building condition, program deficiencies, enrollment, evidence of overcrowding, and general environment). Moving forward in the MSBA’s process requires collaboration between the district and the MSBA on the project from start to finish.

MMRHS was accepted into the core program and invited to conduct a feasibility study for the following main reasons:

• Age of building impacting the quality of learning and instruction
• Boilers are at the end of their life-span and inadequately serving the school 
• Exterior walls are original to the building and in need of serious repair 
• Windows are single-pane, original to the building, and not energy-efficient
• HVAC system does not adequately or efficiently heat or cool the building 
• Lighting system is primarily fluorescent and not up to modern standards
• Horticulture program is housed in a farm-type wooden structure that is not ADA compliant and in need of significant repair and weatherproofing 
• Library and many classrooms lack natural light and fresh air ventilation
• Inadequately-sized learning spaces, particularly in labs and CVTE spaces 
• Safety concerns related to the number of entrances

The Monument Mountain Regional High School (MMRHS) Project, encompasses all aspects of the planning and construction of the High School, including the selection of the Owner’s Project Manager (OPM), designer, and contractor, as well as oversight of the Project. The district has been selected by the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s (MSBA) to participate in their program to design and construct a new or renovated High School. Acceptance to the MSBA program does not guarantee state funding. The MSBA approval process must be successfully completed for the MSBA to provide significant financial assistance to the Project.

In June 2023, the district approved funds for the MMRHS Feasibility Study. The Feasibility Study will arrive at an educationally appropriate and cost effective solution for either a renovated or new Monument Mountain High School.  The district must approve funding with a district vote in the Fall of 2025.

The MSBA process is long and difficult, but very much worth the work and the time. At the end of the MSBA marathon the authority unlocks tens of millions of dollars to help offset the cost of the building project.

An early—and essential—step in the MSBA process is getting input from our communities about what a new monument mountain regional high school should deliver to our students and our towns. This step starts with a visioning process.

In spring 2024, we hosted three visioning sessions with students, families, staff, school and town administrators, and volunteers from our communities to brainstorm what’s important to us: our educational priorities.

These sessions yielded dozens of points of input that can be organized in three key priorities:

• educational priorities that deliver a next-generation education to our students with project based learning, rigorous career technical and academic offerings,

• team-based programs for grades and across disciplines, 

• and integrated special education. 

All of which challenge every facet of the whole student to meet our educational goals. Program priorities that not only deliver this education, but provide a space that is safe and welcoming, flexible enough to accommodate future needs, and accessible for all of our communities to use outside of school hours.

Read the full Educational Program here.

Monument Mountain Regional High School will continue to offer three Chapter 74 Vocational Technical Education Programs in Automotive, Horticulture, and Early Childhood Development, three Innovation Pathways in Healthcare, Advance Manufacturing & Engineering, and Business Finance, and three general CVTE programs in Computer Science, MMTV, and Wood Technology.

The existing high school building is made up of five distinct wings, which has made for unfortunate physical barriers to curricular collaboration and has also fostered the creation of siloed cultures between CVTE-focused students and students on a college preparatory track.

The new high school building design dismantles these obstacles. Academic and CVTE classrooms will be placed adjacent to one another to allow for greater educational and cultural integration.

The new high school building will also allow for the addition of a fourth Chapter 74 program, Electricity. Taconic High School and McCann Technical School both offer a program to train electricians, and they are at capacity, indicating that this is an in-demand career path in Berkshire County that will be likely to attract students from district towns and beyond to the new school.

Employment in the electrical field is predicted to grow by more than ten percent in the next decade, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Interview with MMRHS Automotive Teacher, Chris D’Aniello, on the Current Auto Shop Space

Long-time MMRHS Automotive teacher Chris D’Aniello, on his Auto Shop classroom and its limitations. Preview the improvements of the vocational classroom spaces in the proposed new building.

Interview with High School Building Committee Member Eric Gabriel

Eric Gabriel, a 1996 graduate of Monument Mountain Regional High School, is a well-established local electrician, Great Barrington Selectboard member, and member of the High School Building Committee. In this interview, Eric shares his perspective on how the new Electricity Program planned for the rebuilt Monument Mountain High School will strengthen the local workforce, provide valuable career pathways for students, and help address the growing demand for skilled tradespeople in the region.

Please see our Design Overview page for all renderings, site plans, and floor plans.

A Virtual Tour of the building and Schematic Design overview video is provided below.

DiNisco Design, in collaboration with William Rawn Associates.

Learn more about our designers.

The new high school is designed with modern safety and security features that the current building lacks. Instead of more than 100 entry points, the new building will have a secure, central entrance vestibule with clear sightlines for office staff, supported by cameras, buzzers, and controlled access.

The design also adds a fire suppression and sprinkler system, two well-planned entrances (public and service) to reduce congestion, and a protected perimeter for emergency vehicles. These features reflect best practices for public school safety and have been reviewed and supported by local police and fire officials.

The new school will be an all-electric building featuring many sustainable features including increased open space, reduced footprint, reduced emissions and embodied carbon,  water reduction, optimized energy performance (ground source heat pumps), enhanced indoor air quality, daylighting and views, improved acoustic performance, and thermal comfort. In addition, the project will have a construction and demolition waste management plan to reduce construction and demolition waste disposed of in landfills and incineration facilities by recovering, reusing, and recycling materials. The site will include features such as native plantings and natural landscape elements to embrace the natural beauty of the surrounding area as well as educational opportunities. The new school will be designed to achieve green school status with the MSBA, receiving 4% more in reimbursement from the state. The project’s sustainability subcommittee is committed to review and recommend sustainable practices to the school building committee throughout the design process.

The new building will be equipped to accommodate solar panels, a significant investment in renewable energy that will reduce operating costs over time. The payback period for owning solar is projected to be approximately 23 years, after which the school would benefit from free electricity generated on-site. This commitment to sustainability not only lessens the environmental impact but also provides an educational opportunity for students to learn about renewable energy