WILLIAMSTOWN _ Mount Greylock Regional High School Superintendent Mark M. Piechota is one of three finalists for the position of school superintendent in the town of Milton, Piechota confirmed Monday.
The Milton School Committee will conduct its final interviews on Jan. 5 for the job, which would pay up to 130,000 — 35,000 more than Piechota makes at Mount Greylock. Milton has a far larger school district.
Piechota is completing his 10th year at Mount Greylock, a length of tenure that makes him the district’s longest serving superintendent. Nationally, the average tenure for a school superintendent is three years, he said.
It has been the subject of speculation whether Piechota might seek a post elsewhere after the Mount Greylock Educators Association, the teachers’ bargaining unit, gave him an overwhelming vote of no confidence in July.
When asked whether that capstone to a sometimes strained relationship prompted his decision, Piechota said simply, “No comment.â€
He recently wrote the faculty as follows: “While I continue to work with you all to make this school year a positive one, and I join you in planning for a solid future for this school district, I want you to know that I am also investigating employment opportunities elsewhere.
“I am doing so because I am wondering whether it is time to leave Mount Greylock – questioning whether another district might provide new opportunities and challenges for me.â€
In August, the School Committee voted to extend his contract for two years.
Mary Cobb, chairwoman of the Milton superintendent’s search committee, said Monday that her committee narrowed the field to three from 13 original applicants. The committee is using the Massachusetts Association of School Committees to conduct the search.
Piechota currently receives $95,000 at Mount Greylock. Milton enrolls 3,700 or 3,800 students in six schools: a high school, a middle school and four elementary schools. Mount Greylock’s enrollment is about 800, mostly from Williamstown and Lanesboro.
Milton schools have been given a “probationary†rating by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges for its facilities, on the basis of conforming to curriculum standards and community resources, Cobb said. She said steps are underway, and have nearly been completed, to remedy those concerns, however.
Primarily, Cobb said, Milton has undertaken an ambitious program of building and renovating schools. Milton’s annual school budget is about $26 million.
Piechota declined to speculate on how he might fit in with the Milton system.
“It is healthy for all people to seek to grow and develop,†he said. “In education, that is one of our aims, so we should model it in ourselves. I am committed to my own personal growth and development, and I am looking at this as a possible opportunity … As for being a finalist, there is no guarantee that the position will be offered, or that I will accept it offered.â€
He added, “It is an honor to be selected as one of three finalists in an outstanding school district.â€
The previous Milton superintendent, Mary Graffa O’Neil, served 10 years.
Piechota previously taught English in Brookline public schools, also in the suburbs of Boston, for six years before becoming an administrator. He was later principal of Reading Memorial High School and assistant superintendent in Ithaca, N.Y.
According to a story in the Quincy Patriot Ledger, the other finalists for the superintendent’s job are Magdalene P. Giffune, superintendent of Uxbridge public schools since 1997 and a former Foxboro superintendent, and Nancy Elizabeth Young, superintendent of Holliston Public Schools.
Piechota wrote in his resume that he helped the Mount Greylock district establish a $250,000 educational endowment and pass two Proposition 2 1/2 overrides benefiting the schools. He is slated to begin serving on the NEASC commission on public secondary schools next month.
A 1967 graduate of Williams College, Piechota holds masters and doctoral degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He taught English with the Peace Corps in Ghana for two years.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.
Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.
The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.
Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.
Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.
Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.
The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.
The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.
Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.
Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years.
He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.
Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.
Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.
Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.
Cassidy Flynn scattered five hits in a complete-game effort in the circle as Lenox upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley, 3-2, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament. click for more
Brayden Durant struck out seven and walked one in a complete-game effort on the mound Saturday to pitch the Drury baseball team to a 6-0 win over Keefe Tech in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament at Joe Wolfe Field. click for more
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
