By By Talia Lissauer,Stephanie Zollshan — The Berkshire Eagle,The Berkshire Eagle

Copyright berkshireeagle

GREAT BARRINGTON — As community members toured the cramped, dimly lit hallways at Monument Mountain Regional High School, one muttered, “Well, this is depressing.”

Tight hallways, inadequate security and broken facilities were on display Tuesday night as students led tours of the aging school on Stockbridge Road. The event was part of a campaign to persuade voters — once again — to back a $152 million project to replace the run-down building with a state-of-the-art one.

The proposed school would expand opportunities for Career and Vocational Technical Education students in automotive, electricity and horticulture. But first, voters in Great Barrington, Stockbridge and West Stockbridge must approve the project on Nov. 4. It needs a simple majority across all three towns combined, not separate majorities in each.

Local taxpayers would be responsible for paying $89 million for the 485-student school, while the rest is pledged to be funded by the Massachusetts School Building Authority. Construction would begin in 2027 and students would start at the new school in 2029.

Even if voters reject the project in November — as they did a $51 million proposal in 2014 — the current school building still needs major work. The building committee said replacing the roof, plumbing and electrical systems in the nearly 60-year-old building would cost taxpayers about $89 million, but even so would not bring the facility up to modern standards. Those repairs would take five to 10 years to complete and would be disruptive to students, the committee stressed.

Monument is the only high school in Berkshire County that has not been renovated or replaced, school officials said.

“We need to do something about this building,” Superintendent Peter Dillon said during the presentation that was held after the school tours Tuesday night. “It doesn’t meet our current educational needs, and it limits our ability to support high-quality learning and instruction.”

Students led small groups of community members through the school, pointing out major safety concerns, like a lack of sprinklers, hints of asbestos and windows and doors that don’t lock. They also showed smaller but persistent issues that hinder learning, such as limited sinks in science and art rooms that often don’t drain, classrooms without windows or proper ventilation, and tiny, inconveniently placed lockers.

Over the course of the project process, the committee has emphasized that the building is at the end of its life, isn’t up to modern code, and does not offer high-quality learning opportunities that other schools in the county do. The school has “grandfather status,” which exempts the building from having to follow new building codes — meaning it lacks fire sprinklers, has inadequate fire alarms and does not meet accessibility requirements.

The tours gave an opportunity for people to see the school from the students’ perspective. Senior Harmony Estrada said she was grateful for the community members who came to see the out-of-date building through the eyes of the students.

“It’s a great school, but I think student morale is lower when we have to go back to a crappy building,” Estrada said. “The lack of resources for the [Career and Vocational Technical Education] stumps students in their creativity.”

Madonna Bachman, a mother of Monument Mountain High School alumni, said her kids got a “wonderful” education at the school, but said it’s clear it’s time for a new building in order to support future students.

“It’s time; the school is tired,” Bachman said. “But, at least they keep the floors polished.”

Estrada said she hopes voters vote yes on Nov. 4 to fund the building project because the community should do what it can to support setting young people up for success.

“I hope we get a new school so the future children have more resources than I did to use their brains to their full potential,” Estrada said. “Remember, it’s about the kids.”

After a brief presentation outlining the plans for the new school, which includes having an all-electric building designed to be a “green school” and has increased safety and security measures, community members had the opportunity to ask questions and comment on the plans. While many said the student tours demonstrated a “great need” for an upgrade, some speakers expressed concern over the high construction cost, especially for taxpayers who don’t have kids, and questioned how a better building would help education.

“Programs, not buildings, determine the quality of education,” resident Frank Landsberger said.

Part of what makes Berkshire Hills Regional School District unique, Dillon said, is the range of programs and classes students can take and this new school is created to support students of all interests and will help to improve the quality of the programs.

“We need to set up the building to really meet the needs of all learners, and that includes a wide range of strong academic programs, including academic AP classes, but also a renewed emphasis on our vocational programs,” he said.

After more than an hour of questions from the community about tax impacts, new building versus repairs and enrollment, Scott McFarland, a parent of a Monument alum, closed the conversation by saying he trusts that the committee has done its due diligence and is presenting what is best for future students.

“I’m willing to, without getting into the weeds about all the details, all the pricing and costs, trust the folks that we’ve put in charge and elected to our committees to act in our best interest for our community,” he said.