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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield High School Principal Maggie Harrington-Esko will step down at the end of the year after nearly 20 years in the building.

"I feel that it is important to let you know that this is a decision that I have come to on my own," she wrote to the school community on Monday evening.

Harrington-Esko is the second administrator to resign after the school became embroiled in a staffing scandal in December. Earlier this year, Superintendent Joseph Curtis announced that he would step down from his position effective June 30.

"This is not an easy decision because PHS is a place I love deeply," she wrote.

"For the past 18 years, this

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There isn't much to be said about the district's "as good as it gets" budget for fiscal year 2026.  

Officials are just glad that people won't lose their jobs.

"I'm going to say something that I know is going to get me in trouble later, but I think this is as good as it gets," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

On Wednesday, School Committee members aired their suggestions for the $87 million budget proposal with $1,238,000 in payroll reductions expected to be made through job movement, attrition, retirements, etc.

A $3,765,084 increase from FY25, it includes an $18 million city contribution and more than $68 million of

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — While it is unclear how much information will be released, School Committee members want some executive summary of the Pittsfield High School investigation into alleged staff misconduct.

On Wednesday, they requested a capsulation of the process and, if possible, the findings of Bulkley Richardson & Gelinas' investigation triggered by allegations against Dean of Students Molly West and Vice Principal Alison Shepard that surfaced in December.  

"Right now, the public has the seven of us sitting up here saying nothing was substantiated," said Mayor Peter Marchetti, who motioned for an executive summary.

"And quite frankly, part of the

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — For the month of April, Pittsfield High School students' jazz-inspired works bring color and design to the corridors of City Hall.

Kayleigh Capitanio secured the first-place award for the Berkshires Jazz Student Art Contest with a vibrant work depicting a guitar, piano, and music notes. The piece was created in art teacher Lisa Ostellino's classroom while listening to the music that inspired it.

"I didn't think that idea was going to be good until I started drawing," Capitanio explained. "And then I think what really helped was that we were listening to jazz music and it just got me in the groove, I guess."

Each year, Berkshire

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee will make recommendations for the district's fiscal year 2026 budget on Wednesday.

This follows a workshop on April 2, where principals and district leaders presented their facility's breakdown with a 2.15 percent reduction to meet costs and a public hearing on Monday, which garnered no participation.

The $87 million budget proposal includes an $18 million city contribution and more than $68 million of anticipated Chapter 70 funding. It is a $3,765,084 increase from FY25.

Superintendent Joseph Curtis reported on several outreach efforts to maintain transparency during this budget season, including "much more communication"

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A new climate control system has brought Pittsfield High School into the 21st century.

On Tuesday, Building Maintenance Director Brian Filiault reported that the building's new gas powered steam boilers are a far cry from the former 1930s converted locomotive engines. The about $3 million replacement began in June 2024 and was completed by the end of the year.

"They have full power capacity, but we're probably using 30 percent of what they can actually produce right now," Filiault told the School Building Needs Commission.

The following day, he and some of his staff were to be trained on how to operate the equipment, but "they are

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Stop & Shop boosted Berkshire Community College's food pantry by $7,500, providing students with nutritional stability while focusing on education.

Late last year, Stop & Shop donated $7,500 in gift cards to BCC for its Campus Cupboard, making it the 50th college partner of the grocery's School Food Pantry Program. This stocked the on-campus pantry with food and toiletry items available for any student or staff

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