The nine candidates for six seats on the School Committee meet for a debate on the Boland Theatre stage.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Candidates for the School Committee covered pressing city issues during a recent debate hosted by Pittsfield Community Television and iBerkshires. 

Nine people are running to fill the committee's six seats: Ciara Batory, Sarah Muil, Daniel Elias, Katherine Yon, Jacob Klein, Geoffrey Buerger, Heather McNiece, Vicky Smith, and Carolyn Barry.

The debate held on Oct. 16 at Berkshire Community College's Boland Theatre was moderated by Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Pittsfield Bureau Chief.  Candidates answered enveloped questions from a bulletin board in threes. 

Topics ranged from the middle school restructuring and proposed new school in the West Side, to teacher retention and the district's cell phone policy. The investigations into alleged misconduct at Pittsfield High School were also discussed, as well as candidates' opinions about transparency during the process. 

A summary of candidates' answers to questions will be posted at a later date. Below is a summary of the opening and closing statements: 
 

Ciara Batory

Batory said she is running for the School Committee because students deserve transparency, integrity, and real accountability in their schools. 

"For too long, decisions have been made behind closed doors while families, teachers, and staff are left in the dark. I've seen firsthand how the lack of transparency erodes trust, and I'm here to help change that," she said. 

"Pittsfield truly is full of people who care deeply about our children and their future. As a mom, a community advocate, and someone who works a procurement for General Dynamics, I know how to ask tough questions and to make sure every dollar counts. Our schools deserve the same level of accountability." 

She explained that she wants the district's budget to reflect its priorities, such as fair pay for staff and programs that benefit students instead of consultants. She said this election isn't about politics, it's about restoring trust, listening to families, and doing what's right for Pittsfield, and "Together, we can bring back honesty and rebuild a system that puts students first." 

"We need leaders who tell the truth, who listen, who aren't afraid to ask hard questions. I'm running because I believe Pittsfield can do better, more transparency, more accountability, and more focus on the people who make the schools great," Batory said.
 

Sarah Muil

Muil is a Pittsfield Public Schools graduate, growing up in the city and raising her children here. As an early education leader, she said Pittsfield educators deserve leaders who can support them effectively and provide adequate resources to support students. 

"I am also on the board of directors at Berkshire County Head Start as a new member there, working there for over 11 years as a family advocate and also an education supervisor. I also hold a Master's degree in educational leadership and policy, and in that, I was able to join policy and procedures for early education throughout Massachusetts and go to the State House and support different bills that are being passed for education purposes," she said. 

"I understand also the challenges that educators can face in the classroom, and I understand dealing with children who may have an IEP, who are dealing with 504 plans, and I want to support those families and children in the public schools." 

Muil understands the concerns of families who are sending their children to Pittsfield schools, wondering if they are safe, receiving a strong education, and having their needs met each day. 

"I hope to be able to support this administration in their endeavors with the children and families of Pittsfield Public Schools," she said. 
 

Daniel Elias

Elias said that when he first ran, he promised to appeal to the best in people, and not to the worst, adding, "I've referenced that statement many times over the years as my belief and hope that I've always done that."  He cited his regular involvement with school events. 

"I am grateful for those 28 years, and the school events that I've been to are enough for 20 lifetimes. I am further grateful for the over 100 athletic teams that I've coached. Combined, it has been a very good life," he said. 

"I'm always visible, always open for those one-on-one conversations, always independent. When I disagree, I do so with decency." 

Addressing families who may have lost trust in the district, he said there is no blueprint for what happened this year. 

"But I get it, and all I can do is learn and advocate going forward," Elias said. 

"And to those workers who may, at times, wonder if we care or appreciate you. I have always appreciated everything that you do. I have a responsibility to represent everyone, and I try my best to do that, and I'm still here trying." 
 

Katherine Yon

Yon said if she looks familiar, it might be because she served on the School Committee for 12 years, eight as chair.  She left thinking that she would finally retire, "But as you can see, that didn't work out well." 

"So here I am driven, I believe, mostly by my passion for this work, and there is certainly much work to be done. A school to be built, schools to be transformed, pre-kindergarten to be expanded, test scores to be moved closer to their targets, attendance rates to be moved upward, families to be choosing Pittsfield," she said. 

"All staff, from teachers to administrators to bus drivers to cafeteria workers, to psychologists, to counselors and to secretaries, to paraprofessionals and nurses and to custodians, to be appropriately trained and skilled with the confidence to feel valued, to want to stay in Pittsfield, to work with some amazing students supported by their parents, leading the way in the attempt to touch the future together, I do believe the operative word being together." 

Yon hopes she is remembered as a committee member and chair who sees consensus, avoids sensationalism, and values communication and civility, which she believes are crucial in developing effective representative government. 

"However, I could not stand by and do nothing in light of the fact that our school system, the community in which I was born and raised, from Hibbard School to South Junior High to Pittsfield High, the community that gave me such a rewarding career, seemed to be falling prey to the forces of incivility and divisiveness, anger and bitterness," she said. 

"Can one person do anything to help? To help, perhaps, however, it is the citizens of Pittsfield who must choose a City Council and a School Committee which will provide a foundation on which to build that trust and respect. I would like to be a part of building that foundation, especially for the Pittsfield Public Schools, which have given me so much, and of which I have always been so proud." 
 

Jacob Klein

Klein is 18 years old and a senior at Pittsfield High School. He said that his education is instrumental to who he is today. 

"Without the Pittsfield public school district, I would not be who I am today. In fact, without schooling, none of us would be who we are today. I am so appreciative to be able to go to school, to be able to learn in a safe environment, to see my friends, and have such wonderful teachers. It is also the administrators, counselors, and nurses I am thankful for.  Furthermore, our schools would not function without the help of the custodians, cafeteria staff, secretaries, IT people, bus drivers, and more," he said. 

"There are so many in this district that make it work, and sure, there are problems, but no school district is perfect. All that I know is that we have some wonderful schools and some wonderful people that help our students flourish. This is why I am running, to be a voice of compassion and appreciation." 

He said we must never lose sight that change starts small. 

"To have a better world. We must encourage students to be compassionate, honest, and dedicated to their own success and to the success of the community," Klein explained. 

"We are one city, one state, and one country. We must come to see that we all share so much in common and we all want what is best." 
 

Geoffrey Buerger

Buerger has been an educator for 45 years and started as a special education paraprofessional at Crosby when it was a junior high. He has worked as a teacher, department chair, director of professional development, assistant principal, principal, "Everything from kindergarten through alternate school, and I've been an adjunct professor teaching master's candidates in education, so I know the whole system pretty well," he explained. 

Since retirement, he has been substituting in three of Pittsfield's secondary schools. 

"I think I know the system pretty well, and I can see where things aren't as they ought to be, and so I am running because as a substitute, my voice is really limited to a three minute presentation to the School Committee, but as a member of the School Committee, I will be able to advance an agenda that is more employee friendly, that is more beneficial to students, and I think, address some of the accountability issues that we may have with the district office," he said. 

"So I'm asking for the opportunity to be at the table with five other tremendous people to address the issues that we face that are both immediate and short-term and long-term, because as current members of the School Committee know, we are awash in challenges, and I look forward to meeting them." 

Action items that he hopes are completed by the new term include hiring an assistant superintendent of finance, which was done the following day, finalizing a new contract with the Pittsfield Federation of School Employees, and beginning the search for a permanent superintendent. 

"I think we're all agreed that [Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips] should be permitted to apply, and as you wrap up your term, please leave the desk as clean as possible, because the number of action items we have facing whoever the six of us are, that the new committee will face, is large and very intimidating." 

Heather McNiece

McNiece was born and raised here, as well as her children, and hopes someday that her grandchildren will also want to attend school and live in Pittsfield. 

"I love this community, and I want every child to have the same opportunity and same great experience that my own children had in Pittsfield Public Schools. After 28 years as a teacher, I've experienced what keeps people, both students and teachers, in a district. That is respect, connection, a sense of belonging, and a belief that what you do every day matters," she said. 

"I've earned multiple degrees throughout my career, but none of them have made me as smart as the relationships that I've built with the teachers and the students through Pittsfield Public Schools. My top priority running for office is retention, keeping our teachers, our students and our families right here in Pittsfield."

She believes in skill-based education, "Because confidence comes from confidence. When students build skills, they build confidence, and confident students are willing to take risks to make mistakes, and to grow." 

She explained that her lawn signs say she is trusted to reach and ready to serve. 

"And if elected, I can ensure you that every decision-making process that I enter will start with the same question, and that is, how is this good for kids?" McNiece promised. 
 

Vicky Smithh

Smith was on the School Committee from 2022 to 2024 and "felt like a magnet being drawn back in," because several things had changed since then.  One of the changes was a new district mission, and she highlighted the three components that really resonate with her. 

"The first part is it's a partnership. I think public schools should be public. I think we need to be listening to students and parents, and community members, and doing this together. The second part of that mission is that all students would thrive. I totally, totally believe that I was not a student that was easy to thrive in school because it was the sit down, be quiet, do what you're told, and I don't do that very well. So I really am an advocate for all students thriving. I really think we can learn so much from our challenging students," she explained. 

"And the third part of that is helping empower them to thrive so that they can help create a more just and equitable world." 

She worked as an administrator in turnaround schools, one elementary and one middle, and said the pivot was successful because the whole community was involved. 

"But when we turned it around, and there were a lot of high-risk kids in there, the systemic issues that make education so difficult to change right now pulled us under, so I want to make sure that doesn't happen anymore here," she added. 

"And I think another thing that has changed is a new leadership team, and another thing that's changed is there are so many more schools across the United States that are doing and creating schools that I would have loved to have gone to as a student. Very student-centered, interest-based, and very, very connected with their communities. This is the time now for all to thrive. I want to be part of that." 
 

Carolyn Barry

Barry emphasized her passion for the district and ability to use her voice, explaining, "I will ask many, many questions, as I have already been doing over the past month or two, online, on Facebook, asking questions about what the people want to bring accountability and transparency back to the School Committee." 

She would like to launch a transparent hiring review to august hiring practices and ensure that new teachers are vetted, certified, and qualified.  Barry has queried constituents on whether Pittsfield should merge its human resources departments for the school and city to save money, and reported that feedback has been 50/50. 

"Pittsfield deserves the families and trust to protect their children and invest in their futures," she said. 

"Transparency is not optional. It's our obligation. Voters deserve leaders who can be accountable, responsible, and proactive." 

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