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."

Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires Honors Leaders, Volunteers

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
09:07AM / Sunday, May 24, 2026

Liana Toscanini presented the Founder's Choice Award to Smitty Pignatelli for his years of support as state representative. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires held its ninth annual nonprofit awards last week honoring the contributions of those who have helped the community in their own way.

 

The gathering at the Country Club in Pittsfield on Tuesday included the introduction of new nonprofit Executive Director Samantha Anderson, who steps in for retiring founder and director Liana Toscanini. State Reps. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, John Barrett III and Leigh Davis attended the event.

 

Toscanini, who created NPC in 2016, was honored at the conclusion of the evening to mark her decade leading the organization. 

 

"Founders don't just lead organizations, they are the organization in the deepest sense," said NPC Board President Emily Schiavoni. "Their relationships, their instincts, their fingerprints are on everything, and when someone has poured a decade of herself into building something from the ground up, the act of stepping back is not a simple handoff, it's an act of extraordinary trust and courage that brings me to what Leanna actually built." 

 

NPC became something of a chamber of commerce for nonprofits under Toscanini's guidance, creating a hub of support for leadership and networking for the small and large nonprofits that fuel much of the activity within the Berkshires. 

 

She developed more than two dozen programs, including Get on Board, which helps connect community members with nonprofit boards, and a giving-back guide, volunteer fairs, and a resource directory.

 

Schiavoni described Toscanini as a great mentor who has had a big impact in strengthening local nonprofits.