BRPC Seeks Input On Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

11:00AM / Wednesday, October 19, 2022Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) is seeking public comment on a draft Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for Berkshire County, which will be in effect from 2023 through 2027.

The CEDS is a coordinated regional planning process that documents current economic conditions, identifies priority economic development projects, and sets goals and strategies for the upcoming 5-year period. Two previous CEDS have been published for Berkshire County, in 2011 and 2017. The 2023 edition will include an expanded Resiliency Planning chapter, as well as an overview of COVID-19 impacts on unemployment rates and labor force statistics.

The Berkshire County CEDS is developed by BRPC staff in partnership with a regional CEDS committee, made up of representatives from local government, priority industries, non-profits, and regional agencies involved with economic development. After the public comment period completes on November 12th, 2022, and the CEDS document is endorsed by the BRPC Commission, it will be submitted to the US Economic Development Administration for approval. Implementation occurs over the course of the next five years, with annual progress reports filed each year.

The draft document can be found on BRPC’s website at berkshireplanning.org/initiatives/berkshire-comprehensive-economic-development-strategy-ceds/ or at bit.ly/BerkshireCEDS, along with more information about the initiative and copies of former CEDS documents and annual reports.

The PDF document includes links to online forms for members of the public to suggest additions to the Action Plan and Resiliency Recommendations included in the draft. General comments can be emailed to BRPC Economic Development Program Manager, Laura Brennan, at lbrennan@berkshireplanning.org, with the subject line "CEDS draft."

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Pittsfield Schools See Better Building Utilization, Continued Choice Outs

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
01:24PM / Wednesday, August 19, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Students return to school in two weeks; Pittsfield will have one less elementary school and around 100 fewer students.

The School Committee was updated on enrollment for the 2026-2027 academic year during last week's regular meeting.

At this time, the Pittsfield Public Schools had 4,586 students, compared to 4,682 at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. Superintendent Latifah Phillips said this has been the district's trend for years and is not surprising.

"Across all of these grade levels, we have a decrease. I believe of about 80-90 students. I think it's at eighth grade that we're going to look into and make sure that our data is accurate," she said to the School Committee last week.

"But otherwise, the enrollment is following the trends that we have expected in probably the last decade."

With this school year comes the closure of Morningside Community School and the middle school restructuring that sends Grades 5-6 to Herberg Middle School and Grades 7-8 to Reid Middle School.

Fifth grade enrollment was subtracted from last year's elementary enrollment, and these reflect the reassignment of Morningside students to Allendale, Capeless, Egremont, and Williams.

Phillips pointed out that this process has increased the use of school buildings, as underutilized buildings were one of the concerns that led to institutional changes.

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