Beverly Gans Marks 60 Years & Counting in the Pittsfield SchoolsBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:05AM / Thursday, May 09, 2024 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Public Schools recognized Beverly Gans for her 60 years of service with the district with a lunch and crystal plaque on Friday. Gans will mark 40 years as secretary to principal at Taconic High School in June. "It's been a wonderful experience, and I wouldn't trade it … I've seen generations go through," she said. "I've seen kids go through, I've seen their kids go through, I've seen their grandkids go through … it's just been a wonderful life for me to have this," Her former students will come back to the school surprised to see the secretary they connected with years >> Read More |
Pittsfield Council to See $216M FY25 Budget, Up 5%By Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:36AM / Monday, May 06, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mayor Peter Marchetti has proposed a $216 million budget for fiscal year 2025, a 5 percent increase from the previous year.
Budget season will kick off on Monday with a special meeting of the City Council containing several financial items, one being an order to raise and appropriate $216,155,210 for the city's operating budget. This begins the council's process of departmental spending deliberations with a budget adoption before the new fiscal year begins on July 1.
This is about a $10 million hike from FY24's $205,584,497 budget.
Early in the term, the council supported a divisive petition requesting a budget that is "close to
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BCC Honors Scholar Students to Present Free Public Reading| 04:00PM / Sunday, May 05, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Three Berkshire Community College (BCC) Honors Scholar Program students who were awarded Melville Fellowships for the spring semester — Rowan Boyer, Mwila Malama and Clarise Seguin — will present a public reading of their works on Wednesday, May 8 at 4:30 pm. The reading, which is free and open to the public, will be held at BCC in Melville Hall, Room M-212.?Light refreshments will be served. For those who cannot attend in person, a virtual recording will be accessible on Zoom. To join online, visit https://zoom.us/j/6236694683. The three students were awarded Melville Fellowships by the Berkshire County Historical >> Read More |
Pittsfield Schools Awarded Funds to Boost FAFSA Completion | 11:01AM / Wednesday, May 01, 2024 | |
BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration is providing grants to more than 100 Massachusetts public schools serving Gateway Cities to help high school seniors complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In Berkshire County, Eagle Education Academy will receive $30, Pittsfield High School will receive $5,400 and Taconic High will receive $5,670. These grants, totaling more than $550,000, follow an announcement that the state's priority deadline to apply for Massachusetts financial aid via MASSGrant has been extended from May 1 to July 1, 2024. The awards are also intended to support schools amid unique nationwide challenges with this year's >> Read More |
Pittsfield School Committee OKs $82M Budget, $1.5M CutsBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
12:44PM / Sunday, April 28, 2024 | |
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
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BCC Student Discovers Rare Osprey NestBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:21PM / Saturday, April 27, 2024 | |
Danielle Lemieux was able to snap a photo of the birds to confirm it was an osprey nest. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Danielle Lemieux was on her routine commute to class at Berkshire Community College when she spied a rare sight. The ornithology student discovered the third osprey nest on record in the county. While it isn't rare for the birds of prey to be seen in the area, they typically settle in coastal regions and finding a nest is "extremely unusual," said Lemieux, whose discovery last week took her environmental science education to a new level.
"It's really exciting that we have this amazing bird nesting right in our back yards," she
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BCC Massage Therapy Program to Hold Meet and Greet' | 08:00AM / Friday, April 19, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Massage Therapy program at Berkshire Community College (BCC) will hold a "meet and greet" session on Tuesday, May 7 at 5 pm. The free event will be held on BCC's main campus, located at 1350 West Street, Pittsfield, in Room G-12. To register to attend, visit www.berkshirecc.edu/massage-therapy. Designed for prospective students or those curious about the massage therapy profession, meet and greet sessions provide a welcoming opportunity to learn about BCC's program, as well as the chance to meet faculty and learn about BCC resources. Topics will include the admissions process, prerequisites and >> Read More |
Chapter 70 Fix Adds $2.4M to Pittsfield School BudgetBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:29AM / Tuesday, April 16, 2024 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Local and statewide advocacy has led to a correction in Chapter 70 funding, adding another $2.4 million in aid for fiscal year 2025. Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Kristen Behnke reported last week that the state Department of Secondary and Elementary Education has recognized 11 more low-income students in the district, bumping the district back into a higher reimbursement group. She said it is "very welcome news given this budget situation."
The School Department had missed the cut by 0.04 percent, or two students, costing the district millions in state education aid but this was found to be a technical error.
"Because
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Marchetti Announces Jazz Art Contest WinnersBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
06:22PM / Friday, April 12, 2024 | |
Brooklyn Duck is this year's winner of the contest and her work will be used for the Pittsfield City Jazz Festival. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield High School has 75 jazzy artworks in City Hall, one of which was chosen to represent the 2024 Pittsfield City Jazz Festival.
Mayor Peter Marchetti on Thursday congratulated the winners of the annual Berkshires Jazz Student Art Contest. PHS junior Brooklyn Duck won first place followed by senior Nye Stedman and sophomore Karalin Melendez.
Duck's artwork features a colorful array of musical instruments and musicians with piano keys winding down the center. She said that she was inspired by her teacher Lisa
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Wahconah Apollonian Players Perform 'Into the Woods' this WeekendBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
01:30PM / Wednesday, April 03, 2024 | |
There some 50 students who make up the cast and technical team, including 16 from Nessacus Middle School. DALTON, Mass. — Wahconah High School Apollonian Players will be performing the musical "Into the Woods" this weekend. The show will run on Friday, April 5, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 6, at 1 and 7 p.m. in the school's auditorium. Tickets can be purchased in advance here or at the door for $14 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. The first act is 90 minutes and open to all ages but Act 2 contains adult content, such as adultery, death, murder, and other bad choices that may not be suitable for children age 10 and >> Read More |
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