Veterans Events Scheduled in North Adams and Adams

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Two events for veterans are scheduled in Berkshire County.
 
A Veterans Coffee Hour will be held on Thursday, March 20, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the North Adams ELKS Lodge, located at 100 Eagle St., North Adams.
 
The Adams American Legion Post #160 will host a Veterans' Luncheon on Thursday, April 10, 2025, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 
 
The luncheon will feature pizza and salad, and Kurtis Durocher, the new VSO, will speak about benefits. The cost of the luncheon is $4.
 
Both events welcome all veterans.
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North Adams School Finance Panel Reviews Fiscal 2026 Spending Plan

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Finance & Facilities Committee took a deeper dive this week into next year's school spending plan.
 
The draft proposal for fiscal 2026 is $21,636,220, up 3.36 percent that will be offset with $940,008 in school choice funds, bringing the total to $20,696,212, or a 2.17 percent increase. 
 
Business and Finance Director Nancy Rauscher said the district's school choice account would be in relatively good shape at the end of fiscal 2026. 
 
As a practice, the district has been to trying not to exceed the prior year's revenue and to maintain a 5 percent surplus for unexpected special education expenses. However, this year's revenue would be about $500,000 so the amount used would be significantly more. 
 
"But given our current balance, we could absorb that in the net result of what we're anticipating in the way of revenue next year," Rauscher said. "Relative to committing $940,000 to school choice spending next year, that would leave us with a projected balance at the end of FY 26 of a little over $1.2 million, and that's about 6 percent of our operating budget."
 
But committee members expressed concerns about drawing down school choice funds that are projected to decrease in coming years. 
 
"I think mostly we're going to go through this and we're going to see things that this just can't be cut, right? It's just, it is what it is, and if we want to provide, what we can provide," said Richard Alcombright. "How do we prepare for this, this revenue shortfall?"
 
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