Pittsfield School Committee Sees $78M Budget Proposal

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The district is seeking a budget increase of more than 8 percent in fiscal year 2024, with a majority of the funding going to special education, career technical education, and contractual obligations.

The School Committee got a first look at the upcoming budget request on Wednesday.  The $78,310,016 ask is an 8.17 percent — or $5,911,754 — increase from FY23's budget of $72,398,262.

"Our goal continues to be to create meaningful and most importantly, sustainable change for the children of our city," Superintendent Joseph Curtis told the committee.

"Meaningful and sustainable change takes time. We are impatient because our decisions affect children's lives every day but any rush to change is reactive and typically is not embedded systematically. Changes that do not impact our systems are prone to quickly revert back to prior practice."

There will be a public hearing for the school budget at 6 p.m. on Monday at City Hall, the committee will make recommendations on April 12, and there is an expected budget adoption on April 26.

No later than June 1, there will be a joint meeting with the City Council to discuss the proposal.

Eighty-three percent of the increase, about $4.9 million, is allocated for special education instruction and support, CTE/career pathways, and contractual obligations.

This includes a $527,000 increase for CTE, a $1.3 million increase for special education, and $3 million for pay increases to the United Educators of Pittsfield, the American Federation of Teachers, the Pittsfield Educational Administrators Association, and non-bargaining staff members.

Last year, the committee passed memoranda of agreements for its bargaining units that include "substantial increases."

The governor's budget has a Chapter 70 increase of $6,592,719 and the district is requesting $680,965 under that increase.

A variety of staff members attended the meeting to provide details about budget increases in their departments.

Mayor Linda Tyer appreciated this.

"Your expertise means a lot to me when I'm thinking about how I'm going to support this budget or recommendations for reductions that I might make," she said.

"So really appreciate that you, Mr. Curtis invited your staff to be part of this process and I know we're going to have even more opportunities to do that."

Dalton Elects Incumbents, Write-in for Planning Board

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
09:06PM / Monday, May 11, 2026

The last-minute write-in campaigns for Planning Board resulted in higher than normal write-in votes — 306 — for Monday's election. 

DALTON, Mass. — The unofficial results for the town's annual election indicate that Planning Board registered candidate William Striebel III and write-in candidate Richard Hall have secured the two seats.

 

Some 413 voters cast their ballots at the Senior Center on Monday. There were 82 mail-in ballots.

 

The Planning Board race began with just one candidate for the two available positions, leaving one vacancy initially unfilled, but as Election Day approached, two additional candidates launched write-in campaigns, transforming it into a competitive contest.

 

The Planning Board saw a significant number of write-in votes, totaling 306. Striebel secured 238 votes, Hall 163, and Mary Tresa Devereaux with 133. 

 

Both Hall and Devereaux have been endorsed by the Dalton Clear Air Coalition, of which Hall is a member, and Democratic Town Committee. 

 

Hall decided to run for Planning Board last Monday inspired by the Berkshire Concrete situation wanting to ensure that the company follows the town's zoning bylaws. 

 

"Thank you to everyone who voted for me. I look forward to helping the town. It's a privilege being on the Planning Board," he said.