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Pittsfield Boards to Select School Committee Replacement

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee and City Council will meet Wednesday evening to fill a vacancy on the School Committee left by the abrupt departure of Dennis Powell.

Five letters of interest have been submitted for the term expiring in December.

Powell resigned April 14 in protest over the committee's decision to offer the superintendent's position to Joseph Curtis, the deputy superintendent who'd been temporarily filling the post since last fall.

Powell had been the only supporter of Portia Bonner, a Connecticut administrator and the only Black candidate. He signed off during the Zoom meeting and submitted a formal resignation letter to City Clerk Michele Benjamin on April 29.

In accordance with the city charter, both committee and council will meet Wednesday at 6 p.m. to vote on a replacement to complete the last months of Powell's four-year term.

"For a better part of 3 1/2 years, I have tried and thought that I could make a difference in the educational system of Pittsfield Public Schools by being a member of the school committee. Over these past 3 1/2 years, I've been disrespected, ignored, and at times made to feel that my voice meant nothing!" Powell wrote in his letter.

"How the Superintendents process was handled and based on the outcome; was abundantly clear to me; this school committee is not committed to diversity equity and inclusion. Every child is entitled to receive a quality, equitable education!"

The day after Curtis' appointment and Powell's informal resignation, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey addressed those who voted for Curtis: Mayor Linda Tyer, Daniel Elias, William Cameron, and Chairwoman Katherine Yon, in a Facebook post and email stating that they had failed the district with their selection.

Councilor at Large Earl Persip III and Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Maffuccio seconded Kavey's sentiments over email.  
 
Persip said the superintendent selection was thorough up until the point of selection, where the interviews and voting occurred on three consecutive days.

"I am extremely sorry that Mr. Powell has made a decision to resign," Mayor Linda Tyer told iBerkshires following Powell's resignation. "And I hope that he will reconsider. I understand his frustration and disappointment and I am committed to continuing this work, even when we disagree."

Members of the committee have expressed that they wish that they could have convinced Powell to stay.  

"I have known Dennis for quite a long time, I was I was very disappointed to learn of his resignation," Elias said. "I tried to reach out to him, hopeful that he would change his mind. You know, of course, he didn't."

Elias said he is curious to see how Wednesday's meeting plays out, as this has never happened before under this charter.



"I think there's a number of things to be played out," he said.

Cameron said he has nothing to add to the situation and will carefully deliberate the short-term member of the panel.

"I have nothing to add to what's already been said regarding Mr. Powell's resignation," he wrote in an email.  

"As for the candidates who've come forward for appointment to serve out the remainder of Mr. Powell's term of office, the members of the School Committee have only just this morning received the letters submitted by the five candidates. I will give each of them careful consideration before tomorrow's joint meeting with the City Council."

Reportedly, Licensing Board member and former Councilor at Large Kathleen Amuso has submitted a letter of interest. Amuso served on the School Committee from 2003 to 2013, when she left to run for city councilor.

No other applicants have been confirmed.


 


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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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