PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The school budget is less grim than the original proposal but still requires more than $1.5 million in cuts.

On Thursday, the School Committee approved an $82.8 million spending plan for fiscal year 2025, including a city appropriation of $80.4 million and $2.4 million in Chapter 70 funds.

The cuts made to balance the budget include about 50 staff reductions — some due to the sunsetting of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.

"The final version does not answer all needs. It will be unacceptable to some or to many but I must say that tonight's final proposal is very different than where we started when we believed we would have a $3,600,000 reduction. I want to assure everyone that every effort has been made to minimize the impact on both students, families, and staff members while also ensuring that our district has the necessary resources to progress forward," Superintendent Joseph Curtis said.

"Nevertheless, there are incredibly passionate, dedicated staff members who will not be with us next year. This pains me as I've been a part of this organization for now 30 years so I want to assure everyone that our team, this has weighed very heavily in our hearts, this entire process. This is not a group of people that is looking at a spreadsheet saying ‘Well that can go and this can go’ and take that lightly."

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Kristen Behnke and other officials worked with the state Department of Secondary and Elementary Education to rectify an error in the Chapter 70 funding formula, recognized 11 more low-income students in the district, and added an additional $2.4 million to the FY25 budget.

Curtis commented that when he first saw the governor’s FY25 budget, he was "rather stunned."

"The extraordinary circumstances we face this budget season by the conclusion of the substantial ESSER federal grant and a significant reduction in Chapter 70 allotment caused challenges for this team and our school principals and our educators and our staff that have been nothing short of all-consuming," he said.

"I want to extend my gratitude to everyone who has been involved, whether directly or indirectly, in developing this ever-changing and evolving proposal."

Mayor Peter Marchetti said this is not the ideal budget that he would have presented and revealed that the city budget will follow a similar path.

"A week or two from now we're going to present a city budget that also tells somewhat of a similar story with reductions made, not in the fact that reductions are made but we couldn't get to a level service funded budget," he said. "And so there's pain across the board."

Marchetti recalled conversations three years ago under the former administration when the ESSER funds were received.

"I think the message was clear three years ago, from my conversations with former mayor (Linda Tyer) that those positions are a three-year grant position and we shouldn't expect them to be part of the budget going forward," he added.

"Well, here we are, three years later and we all forget the conversation that this was a three-year grant-funded position, and let's not expect those to be permanent school budgets later and we see some of that today."

While nearly 50 positions will be cut, some 25 positions will be added. This includes the elimination of the deputy superintendent and curriculum director and the addition of: 

• An assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction, and educational engagement
• An assistant superintendent of school transformation and accountability that will be half grant funded.

"The two positions I'm proposing, one will have a focus on our entire district and the other a laser-like focus on the six schools that have been identified currently for targeted assistance," Curtis explained.

Deputy Superintendent Marisa Mendonsa said Curtis' proposal will allow the focus and accountability needed for those schools to overcome the hurdle of underperformance.

"Our schools that are receiving that direct support from the state, they have unique things about them and they all have different needs and to have a point person who is really dedicated and focused on that, I think is a priority," she said.

"In terms of the second assistant superintendent, you need to have somebody really has that focus on curriculum instruction."

Members of the Pittsfield Educational Administrators Association, staff members, and parents of the school system spoke during open microphone against the staff cuts. More than 10 paraprofessional positions were reduced in the budget.

Twenty-five-year teacher Bridget McKeever said the proposed cuts could result in non-compliance with individualized education plans. She pointed to the high levels of moderately disabled students that Stearns Elementary School absorbed in kindergarten and first grade who need a sufficient amount of paras for assistance.

"Compliance with student's IEP state that they must be provided with a paraprofessional as they are written currently right now in each of the classes," she said.

"Our special education population and their needs have been ignored for far too long. They are in need of advocates to ensure compliance. Closing gaps in education is quite impossible when you continuously take away the support necessary to make that goal happen."

Curtis said this was not his understanding but he did not want to contradict a veteran employee and will do research to ensure that isn't the case. Stearns is staged for the reduction of four paras, two being vacant positions.

"It was a very difficult budget season. There were times I felt like 'Do I have a fever? I just don't feel really, really well,'" committee member Sara Hathaway said.

"It was just so hard and I felt for the people who have written to us and people who spoke this evening, people who have contacted us in other ways. I know what it's like to be non-renewed. It stinks and I feel bad for those people who are not going to be rejoining us in the new school year."

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