Mount Greylock Committee Member Pushes Back

The iBerkshires.Com reports a member of the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee on Thursday called for more local control over how schools reopen in the fall.

Steven Miller suggested during the committee's monthly meeting that the district ask the commonwealth to allow school districts to decide for themselves whether they can safely hold classes for all students in the school building or consider some sort of hybrid model that incorporates remote learning while reducing capacity for the buildings.

The commissioner of education has signaled that school districts next week will receive more guidance about how schools can reopen. In the meantime, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has asked districts to begin contingency planning for different models that could be implemented, including hybrid models that would have students spending some days in school and some at home engaged in remote learning, as they have this spring.

Miller pointed to the fact that the guidance is expected the week of June 15 as a reason for the School Committee to take action.