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Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Barre voters reject Prop 2½ override for police, other services
BARRE — Voters in Barre handily rejected a proposed $540,000 Proposition 2½ override in a townwide election Tuesday. Aug. 5. According to unofficial results the town posted online, the measure failed 798-154. There were 952 ballots cast, which represents about a fifth of the town's 4,369 registered voters. The vote, which town officials said would lead to cuts in services, including the police, comes after Town Meeting voters in June, by a 133-67 vote, approved the expenditures that would have flowed from a 'yes' vote. The Telegram & Gazette has reached out to members of the town's three-person Board of Selectmen for comment. At Town Meeting, officials said the override, which would have raised property taxes by $255 a year on the median $359,000 home in town, was needed to avoid cuts in services. The town's police chief – who was recently appointed interim town administrator – said the cuts would amount to an 11% decrease in his budget. He said the cut would lead to elimination of the town's school resource officer and to one-man overnight shifts he said would reduce response times and increase the danger to officers. The fire chief told residents he expected the town to lose its fire inspector. Return to for more on this story. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Barre voters reject Prop 2½ override for police, other services Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Yahoo
Massachusetts named No. 1 school system in US for third year in a row. Here's why
According to a new study from WalletHub, Massachusetts has the best school system in the country. In order to determine America's best and worst state school systems, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 32 key indicators of both school safety and quality of education. The data set ranges from pupil-teacher ratio and dropout rate to median standardized test scores. Out of all 50 states, Massachusetts received the highest score, beating out the second-place state by over six full points. Massachusetts was also ranked No. 1 in 2023 and 2024. Here's what WalletHub had to say about the state's school system. Why Massachusetts has the best school system According to WalletHub, Massachusetts is first in the nation for both reading and math test scores at the fourth and eighth grade levels. The state also boasts some of the best test scores in the country, as well as the highest share of students in the country who passed an AP exam, a formal exam for a high school class with college-level work. Finally, WalletHub reports that Massachusetts schools are generally considered safe, with "the fifth-lowest share of students who report being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property, the third-lowest share who have been in a physical fight at school and the fourth-lowest share who report illegal drugs being available to them on school property." MA colleges: What's the best college in Massachusetts? The best party school? See 2025 Niche rankings What states have the best school systems? Here is WalletHub's ranking of the top 10 states with the best school systems: Massachusetts Connecticut New Jersey Virginia New Hampshire Wisconsin Rhode Island Indiana Maryland New York This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: MA's school system ranked No. 1 in country by WalletHub. Here's why Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Clark University announces plans to scale down operations; layoffs coming
(This story has been updated with additional information.) WORCESTER ― Clark University is planning substantial cutbacks and restructuring as the school grapples with lower enrollment and the public's changing attitude toward college, with a quarter of faculty expected to be laid off over the next two years. "Now is a challenging time for those in higher education," Clark President David Fithian said. "We are announcing this plan to refocus what you would call our educational offerings from a student perspective." In an interview with the Telegram & Gazette, Fithian and Vice President for Academic Affairs John Magee said the university will be restructured, with all programming encompassed in three different broad fields of study in The School of Climate, Environment and Society; The Center for Media Arts, Computing and Design; and in health and human behavior. "We want to pick areas of academic studies where we know that we are good at," Fithian said. "For smaller institutions, you can't do everything equally well and we have to pick and choose what we are good at and what we are going to do going forward." While the university does not intend on cutting any programs, many of the programs will be placed to fit within the three main schools, streamlining a lot of the administrative process. Clark officials stated that approximately 25% to 30% of faculty will have their positions eliminated over the next two years, although that number may change. The layoffs are expected to affect non-tenured, pre-tenured and adjunct faculty. A decline in enrollment was cited as the biggest factor behind the changes. Fithian said the incoming freshman class, the Class of 2029, contains just 430 students, approximately 150 fewer than the school has averaged in the past. Fithian said the loss of students for the upcoming school year translates to approximately $7 million is less revenue. Fithian added that the school has lost around $1.5 million this year in grant funding from the federal government, while adding that the total could change and it's possible new grants could supplant lost revenue. "There are some grants that are still getting approved for different programs — obviously some grants are being targeted more than others (for cancellation) but it's possible we have more grant money in the future," Fithian said. Fithian said several factors led to declining enrollment — the first that prospective students and their families have become more discerning about the college process. "There is this doubt on whether going to college is the best path coming out of high school, and college has gotten expensive and more and more families are struggling to pay for it," Fithian said. "We get questions now about demonstrating outcomes — and the number one question we get is asking what Clark students are paid one to three years after graduating. You hear a lot more questions about what our students do if they are, for example, a political science major." Another factor is what those in higher education refer to as the "demographic cliff," an upcoming period where there will be a shortage of college-aged students, reflective of fewer births since the Great Recession in the late 2000s. Fithian said that the goal with the changes at Clark is to better position the school to thrive at what is anticipated to be a smaller scale. "Colleges and universities have survived for as long as they have because they have not undertaken a lot of risks," Fithian said. "What we are finding is that the environment that exists today will not allow for that. There is not this sense that if we just stay the course, others will revert to that. What we are doing is acknowledging that we need to change." At the graduate-school level, where a majority of the students are international, concerns about federal policy regarding student visas, including an incident in April in which 12 Clark students had their visas revoked, has led to apprehension about attending school in the United States. More: 12 Clark students have visas revoked in latest blow to Worcester's international students "A lot of schools attract a lot of international students, and there is a lot of pause and apprehension coming from international students," Fithian said. "Last year there was a delay in appointments for visas and we learned in August that a good number of students couldn't get a visa appointment until October, November or December. I'm worried about that happening again — the visa appointments may get delayed or outright denied." Fithian added that he said the school may consider selling off real estate in the future. Fithian said that moving forward, Clark and any other institute of higher learning needs to improve at showcasing the benefits of its education. "What we need to do a better job across the board in higher ed is not just explaining outcomes that go beyond first-year salaries out of college, but to better connect what we think of is liberal arts education, broad-based learning to make sure students are exposed to a scientific perspective, a historical perspective," Fithian said. "We need to do a better job demonstrating that the education we provide that connects those disciplines and the value that has to graduates." This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Clark University announces restructuring and faculty layoffs
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Should I buy a home or have a baby amid tariffs? MA residents say no, says new poll
Should you choose now to buy a home, have a child or look for a new job? Massachusetts residents say no, according to a new poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released Friday. The poll found that Massachusetts residents are very pessimistic about the U.S. economy and about making expensive life decisions. Based on the recent poll ,64%, including a majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents, think it's a bad time to buy a home. Majorities also think it's a bad time to buy a car (54%) or have a child (51%). Few think it's a good time to buy a major household item (17%) or look for a new job (19%). The only action surveyed that Bay Staters are less pessimistic about is investing in the stock market: 27% think it's a good time to do so (with Republicans more likely to say so), 34% say it's a bad time and 39% are neutral. The poll also looked at how Massachusetts's residents feel about their current finances, their expectations for the economy in the coming year and their thoughts on tariffs. The Bay State Poll surveyed 907 Massachusetts residents online between May 22 and May 26. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.3%. Currently, 38% of Massachusetts residents say they are worse off financially than a year ago. 46% say they are about the same, and 16% say they are better off. When looking ahead, 46% say they expect to be worse off a year from now, compared to 27% who expect to be the same or better off. Those who expect to be worse off cite higher prices, increasing inflation, and a government who they expect will handle the economy poorly. More than half (55%) also expect the U.S. economy to experience bad times in the next year, and 68% think tariffs will hurt the U.S. economy. That includes 97% of Democrats, 72% of Independents and 17% of Republicans. 75% of Republicans expect tariffs to have a positive impact on the U.S. economy. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Should I buy a home right now? New poll shows MA residents say no
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Large helicopter to hover over Wachusett Mountain all day. Here's why
PRINCETON — With snow an afterthought, and with the aid of a helicopter, crews this week began installing a $20 million chairlift to the face of Wachusett Mountain. The existing four-passenger Polar Express will be replaced with a high-speed, six-passenger lift. The upgrade, which includes the mechanical system and towers, does not include a name change. Polar Express is a nod to the ski area's partner, Polar Beverages of Worcester. The four-passenger lift was installed in 1994. Wednesday, May 28, crews began moving construction supplies and chairlift components onto the mountain. A Canada-based helicopter was enlisted to transport large, heavy items from the ski area's parking lot to the slope. Workers on the ground connected the cargo to a cable that was attached to the helicopter. The effort includes the removal of existing equipment. The installation of the new lift is expected to be complete in time for the 2025-26 ski season. The lift was manufactured by an Austrian company, Doppelmayr. It will have the latest safety technology including auto-closing, self-locking restraining bars. More: High-speed, 6-passenger chairlift is headed to Wachusett Mountain This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Large helicopter to hover over Wachusett Mountain all day. Here's why
