Pittsfield Council to Tackle School, Roadwork PetitionsBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
12:34PM / Sunday, March 24, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Tuesday's more than 400-page City Council agenda includes several items related to Pittsfield Public Schools and street work.
The council will vote on a request from Superintendent Joseph Curtis to submit a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for a combined elementary build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.
The proposal rebuilds Conte Community School and Crosby on the West Street site with shared facilities, as both have outdated facilities, insufficient layouts, and need significant repair.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.
It was authorized by the School Committee and the School Building Needs Commission last week and earlier this month, a site visit to both facilities revealed deficiencies to community members and elected officials.
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. 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.
Curtis provided the following explanations for the condition of the schools:
Crosby Elementary: The existing school infrastructure and major systems are past their useful life. The building envelope does not meet current energy or environmental standards. The building's configuration does not align with the District's vision for elementary education. The building lacks appropriate spaces for educational specialists. The current layout does not provide the desired level of secure access.
Conte Community School: The existing school is an obsolete "open-plan" building that does not align with the District's vision for elementary classrooms. The infrastructure and major systems are nearing the end of their useful life. The building envelope does not meet current energy or environmental standards. The building lacks appropriate spaces for educational specialists. The current layout does not provide the desired level of secure access.
Mayor Peter Marchetti has asked that the council accept a communication from the Haverhill School Committee regarding the passing of a resolution to seek a full inflation adjustment of Chapter 70 school aid for fiscal year 2025, which the School Committee approved on Wednesday.
The district is facing a $3.7 million budget shortfall and more than 100 positions have been proposed to be cut.
Much of the impact is attributed to the September sunsetting of the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds that were created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and not as much in state Chapter 70 education funding as in previous years.
Due to a decrease in the percentage of low-income students, the district is being docked $2.3 million after missing the cutoff for a higher reimbursement group by 0.04 percent. Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Kristen Behnke explained that this is a difference of two students to get the district over the mark and that some possible technical errors have been identified.
The resolution states that the application of a cap on the Foundation inflation index that limits each annual adjustment to no more than 4.5 percent when inflation exceeds that amount has reduced the base used to calculate Foundation Budgets for fiscal year 2025 and future years by about 6 percent below what is needed to maintain the purchasing power of Massachusetts schools.
Because of this, it states that a legislative change is needed (1) to fully reflect recent inflation in the Chapter 70 definition of the Foundation inflation index for fiscal year 2025 and (2) to eliminate the cap in future years to restore the purchasing power of district Foundation budgets to reflect the intended resource allocations of the Student Opportunity Act,
"RESOLVED, that the Pittsfield City Council calls on the Massachusetts Legislature and the Governor to ( 1) amend Chapter 70 Section 2 of the General Laws (i) to provide a Foundation Inflation Index for Fiscal Year 2025 that fully adjusts for inflation occurring since the start of the Student Opportunity Act and (ii) to eliminate the upper limit on the Foundation inflation index for all future years, and (2) for fiscal year 2025, to fully fund the Student Opportunity Act including Foundation aid that fully
accounts for inflation that has occurred since the passage of that act," it reads.
"RESOLVED further, that the Pittsfield City Council calls on the Massachusetts Association of School Committees to work to advance legislation that would ensure that Chapter 70 Foundation Budgets for fiscal year 2025 and forward, are fully adjusted for all inflation that has occurred since the start of the Student Opportunity Act."
At the request of Councilor At Large Kathy Amuso and Ward 3 Councilor Matthew Wrinn, Curtis also submitted a chart that defines the number of positions in each department, the number of classrooms, and the projected number of students for the 2024-2025 school year.
Marchetti has submitted orders to transfer and appropriate $2 million from the Public Works Stabilization fund and $615,000 from certified free cash for street improvements.
The funds will be used in conjunction with $1.3 million from the Fiscal Year 2025 Chapter 90 appropriation to the City and $600,000 from the Fair Share amendment for road repairs.
Work includes:
• Resurfacing approx. 6.5 miles of accepted city streets ($3,800,000.00)
• Crack sealing approx. 25.5 miles of accepted city streets ($250,000.00)
• Fog sealing approx. 12 miles of accepted city streets ($465,000.00)
Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi has submitted petitions regarding safety measures on West Street, which saw two pedestrian deaths last year.
She has requested an update on the 2023 traffic calming proposal for lower West Street and an update on the petition submitted on behalf of West Street residents concerning solar-powered LED Speed Radar signs.
In December, Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales reported that the Department of Public Services is looking into the possibility of adding speed feedback signs in multiple locations across the city to improve speed compliance and that the engineering division is currently mapping out the locations and condition of existing speed limit signs to identify locations where they would be most effective.
Lampiasi and Ward 7 Councilor Rhonda Serre also requested that LED Speed feedback and other types of signage be prioritized in the FY25 budget, as "Utilizing visual reminders as a calming measure strategy is not only significantly less expensive but also more cost-effective than dealing with the aftermath of personal injury and property loss."
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