Town Government
School Committee & Superintendent
A Town That Buys Its Schooling
The Superintendent: Rebecca Phillips
New Ashford is too small to run a school of its own, so it does something most towns never have to: it buys its children’s schooling from its neighbors. The town pays tuition to send its students out, its older students to Mount Greylock Regional School in Williamstown, and the voters still elect their own School Committee to manage that arrangement, negotiate the tuition, and answer for the money. That is what makes a school budget vote in New Ashford a real fight. The town’s own Superintendent is Rebecca Phillips, who administers New Ashford’s non-operating district. Because the town buys rather than runs its schools, the committee’s central job is the contract and the check, not a building full of classrooms.
| Role | Superintendent, New Ashford’s schools (a non-operating, tuitioning district) |
|---|---|
| Committee | New Ashford School Committee, elected town-wide |
| Meetings | New Ashford Town Hall, 188 Mallery Road; the committee reorganized June 8, 2026 |
| Agendas | newashford-ma.us |
The School Committee
New Ashford’s voters elect their own School Committee, and it reorganized at its June 8, 2026 meeting. Its job is not to run classrooms but to set the town’s school policy, negotiate and vote the tuition that sends New Ashford’s children to school elsewhere, and work with the Superintendent on the budget that Town Meeting ultimately approves. Because the town posts no member roster, this guide does not print individual members’ names; the town’s own School Committee page carries the current agendas and notices.
Current agendas and meeting notices: New Ashford School Committee at newashford-ma.us.
Where New Ashford’s Students Go
- Grades 7 to 12: Mount Greylock Regional School in Williamstown, shared with Williamstown and Lanesborough.
- Younger students: attend an elementary school shared with Lanesborough; the town pays tuition rather than operating its own.
- Receiving district (DESE 07150000): Mount Greylock Regional, about 1,156 students, whose Superintendent is Joseph Bergeron.
- State data: DESE profile (code 07150000).
Meetings & Participation
- When: the School Committee meets at New Ashford Town Hall, and its agendas and notices are posted on the town website.
- Public comment: residents may address the committee. Check the agenda for sign-up details.
- The budget: the school tuition still lands at Town Meeting, where every registered voter can vote on it, which in a town this size is exactly why one budget line can turn on a handful of votes.
Curious how a bill becomes law, or how students can take on a civics project?