PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Building Needs Commission and the School Committee authorized the superintendent to submit a statement of interest for a combined elementary build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.

Now the SOI needs support from the City Council, which will be decided later this month ahead of the April 12 deadline.

The proposal rebuilds Conte Community School and Crosby on the West Street site with shared facilities, as both have outdated facilities, insufficient layouts, and need significant repair. A rough timeline shows a feasibility study in 2026 with design and construction ranging from 2027 to 2029.

Following the SOI, the next step would be a feasibility study to determine the specific needs and parameters of the project, costing about $1.5 million and partially covered by the state.  There is a potential for 80 percent reimbursement through the Massachusetts School Building Association.

The SBNC took the vote on Tuesday and the School Committee on Wednesday — both unanimous.  The City Council is expected to vote on March 26.

After a site visit to both schools, committee members spoke to the risks that Conte’s open space plan poses.

Chair William Cameron pointed out one attendee commenting that there was "No way you could defend a shooter in this building."

"We’re talking about access here, which is obviously very important as a security issue but those schools, given what's happened in the United States since Columbine in 1999, how common this has become, these horrific incidents, those buildings are particularly vulnerable, it seems to me," he said.

"That the students in the classroom or the instructional areas, they're vulnerable in a way that would not be the case in say, Crosby or any of the other elementary schools where you have corridors and classrooms and doors that that shut."

Member William Garrity said an open-space layout is also difficult for students on the autism spectrum.

"I think we really, really, really, really, really need to do something with Conte and Crosby. Just going through I think, from personal experience being on the autism spectrum, the open-concept classroom just sounds ridiculous to me. I know it's really strong language there but just as a person that can get distracted by a lot of noise, I don't think I would ever learn in that environment and there's many, many, many other students like that and I think it's something we need to move past," he said.

"I think open concept classrooms had its moment in the '70s and '80s or whenever it was developed and I think we need to bring back classrooms with four walls and I think this is the way to go forward."

Superintendent Joseph Curtis said veteran teachers who had been incredibly committed to open-space schools chose to move to another district school without the layout because they "wanted a classroom with four walls."

"I started off my career in open space, went to school in open space in Springfield, and I've been a principal in open space," he said. "It does have an impact, there's no question and just some simple thoughts can lead you to that conclusion."

Silvio O. Conte Community School is an open-concept, 69,500-square-foot facility that opened in 1974. Located on West Union Street, it is not far from the proposed site on West Street.

The school was built with no walls separating the classrooms and today, temporary walls that do not reach the ceiling separate the learning areas but allow noise to travel. Originally meant to be an unlocked school that can be accessed by the community, Conte's main office is located on the second floor and is "highly unusual" for modern-day standards that require significant security.

Crosby is about 69,800 square feet and opened in 1962. It was built as a junior high school, so several aspects had to be adapted for elementary use.

"Crosby being a true junior high school and its layout and Conte and Morningside not having walls was an experience for some of the elected officials that took the tour," Curtis told the SBNC.

"There were some there that didn't realize that Conte and Morningside didn’t have walls so it was good to have them in the facilities."

He pointed out that if they were to renovate Crosby, they would still be left with a renovated junior high school rather than an elementary school.

During the tour, Curtis pointed to broken windows that cannot be fixed because the glazing contains asbestos and the higher level layout that separates administrative offices and service provider areas from the classrooms.  

School attendance zones are a point of discussion for the entire school district and for this project.

Currently, eight attendance zones designate where a student will go to elementary school. Part of the vision is to collapse those zones into three with hopes of building a plan that incorporates partner schools in each attendance zone.

The West Side zone can potentially have both partner schools, Crosby and Conte, on the same site.  These partner schools could share several common spaces including the gym, cafeteria library, and potential administrative offices which could result in a reduction in costs for maintenance.

This plan has the potential to house grades pre-kindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another with both having their own identities and administrations.

Curtis pointed to the district restructuring study that is currently underway, explaining that the MSBA will look favorably on the larger efforts.

"It does ask if we have invested in a master facilities plan which we have," he said.

"So that signals to them that it's not simply the superintendent with a desire receives authorization and then just goes to the website and submits the statement. That there is bigger thinking around this investment that has implications beyond the building investment itself."

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