Mass Housing and Shelter Alliance Honors Former Pittsfield Mayor

10:37AM / Tuesday, May 21, 2024Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — Former Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer was among those honored by the Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance (MHSA) at its annual Home for Good fundraiser and award ceremony on Thursday, May 16 at WBUR CitySpace in Boston.

Tyer, along with Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch and Brockton Mayor Robert F. Sullivan, received the prestigious Canon Brian S. Kelley Public Service Award from MHSA which recognizes individuals who are commited to ending homelessness.

Inaugurated as the Mayor of the City of Pittsfield for a second four-year term in January 2020, Tyer was the first mayor in Pittsfield's history to be elected to a four-year term. In January 2024, Mayor Tyer stepped down from office and now serves as the Executive Director of Workforce Development and Community Education at Berkshire Community College.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, Mayor Tyer assembled the City of Pittsfield's COVID-19 Task Force. For more than a year, a team comprised of city and school officials, law enforcement, first responders, leadership from the Sheriff's Office, Berkshire Medical Center, and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency worked to ensure that the Pittsfield community had what it needed to remain safe during this unprecedented public health crisis.

"Mayor Tyer ably handled all the challenges associated with governing during the pandemic with skill and great sensitivity. She fully supported, embraced, and promoted the Housing First model for those experiencing chronic homelessness," said Joyce Tavon, MHSA's CEO. "Mayor Tyer has worked to find housing solutions for those living in outdoor encampments as well as the wraparound services they need to address their healthcare needs and provide much-needed stability."

The Canon Brian S. Kelley Public Servant Award is named in honor of the late Canon Brian S. Kelley, a longtime advocate to end homelessness who served as the Canon at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston. Canon Kelley played a founding role in MHSA and other initiatives to end homelessness.

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Pittsfield Schools Schedule Morningside, Budget Hearings This Week

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:23AM / Monday, April 06, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee will hold another public hearing for the potential closure of Morningside Community School.

On Thursday, April 9, at 6 p.m., community members will have the chance to give feedback in the Reid Middle School library. Last month, the Pittsfield Public Schools announced the possible closure of Morningside, which serves elementary grades, for the 2026-2027 school year and redistribution of its students to other city schools.

In the last couple of weeks, the district has solicited input from employees and community members through meetings at the school.

Morningside Community School was built in the mid-1970s with an open classroom concept. Morningside serves about 374 students and has a 7 percent accountability score, outperformed by 93 percent of the state.

For fiscal year 2027, the district has allocated about $5.2 million for the school. The committee has also requested a version of the proposed $87.2 million district budget with Morningside closed.

Pittsfield has another open concept school, Conte Community School, that is planned to consolidate with Crosby Elementary School, and possibly Stearns Elementary School, in a new building on the Crosby site by 2030. The status of the project's owner's project manager will be discussed on Tuesday, April 7, at 5 p.m. at Taconic High School during the School Building Needs Commission meeting.

That leaves the school officials wondering if Morningside students could have better educational outcomes if resources followed them to other nearby schools. Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips has stressed that a decision has not yet been made.

Considerations for the school’s closure include: The feasibility of the facility to provide a conducive teaching and learning environment with an open campus design, the funding allocation needed to ensure Morningside students can have equitable learning opportunities, and declining enrollment across Pittsfield elementary schools.