Berlin-Boylston School Committee Advances Plan to Drop MCAS as Graduation Requirement

BERLIN — October 14, 2025 — Berlin-Boylston Regional School Committee advanced a proposal to remove the MCAS exam as a local graduation requirement and authorized the district's FY25 operating budget at $24,793,688. The committee voted unanimously in a roll-call to approve the budget by funding source, with Director of Finance Aaron confirming the district spent $24,659,281 in FY25 and preserved school choice funds for future use. Principal Lisa Mayor presented the graduation documents as a first read, noting that no Midwatch-area districts are currently using the MCAS as a local graduation requirement and that the state remains unclear on how the test will be used going forward; a vote is expected at the November 10 meeting. The meeting also drew sharp public comment from coaches and parents opposing proposed student handbook language governing middle school athletes playing on high school teams, with teacher and coach Dan Ashman telling the committee "the proposed change in policy would be a detriment to the current and future Tahanto athletic program as a whole" — the committee voted to approve the handbook changes anyway, with Athletic Director Julie Lee framing the new language as a starting-point process, not a ban.