Senator Mark Sets Community Office Hours for April

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The staff of state Sen. Paul Mark, D-Peru, will host a number of community outreach events during April.
 
District Director Jon Gould and Constituents Service Director Casey Pease will be available to meet with constituents in the communities of Adams, Great Barrington, North Adams and Pittsfield during this month's staff office hours. 
  • Adams: April 4 & 18, Tuesdays, from 9 to noon, Town Hall, 8 Park St.
  • Great Barrington: April 3 & 17, Mondays, from 9 to noon, Town Hall, 334 Main St.
  • North Adams: April 4 & 18, Tuesdays, from 1 to 4, MCLA Alumni Relations Building, 228 E. Main St.
  • Pittsfield: April 5, 6, 19 & 20, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 9 to noon, senator's district office, 773 Tyler St.
Residents of any of the 57 municipalities in the Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin & Hampshire Senate District are encouraged to visit one of the following locations to ask for assistance with issues involving any state agency or to share ideas on current or potential state legislation. Appointments are not needed. 
 
In addition to the regularly rotating office hours, the senator plans to visit every community for coffee and conversation-type events. The senator and his staff will also hold office hours in Southwick Town Hall on the second and fourth Mondays from 1 to 4 p.m.; at Buckland Town Hall on the second and fourth Tuesdays from 9 to 11; and the Williamsburg Town Offices on the second and fourth Tuesdays from 1 to 3. 
 
The senator can contacted at Paul.Mark@masenate.gov, contact  or call the offices during normal business hours, Monday through Friday. The State House office, where the budget and policy, media relations, and scheduling functions are handled, can be reached at 617-722-1625. The Pittsfield office can be reached at 413-464-5635.
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MSBA: No Stearns in Proposed West Pittsfield School

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Stearns may not be part of the proposed consolidated West Side elementary school after all. 

During the School Building Needs Commission meeting on Monday, the owner's project managers, Skanska, reported that the Massachusetts School Building Authority would not fund a three-school project. 

Stearns Elementary School had been included in the feasibility study to see if Crosby Elementary, Conte Community School, and Stearns Elementary could all be located at 517 West St. All three school locations listed in the feasibility study had to be considered; Conte has several site challenges.

Project designers TSKP reviewed 12 different school options, and it was relayed that only the rebuilds of Crosby and Conte could be fully funded. Pittsfield would have to pay for Stearns. 

"I also think it's important to look at long-term and affordability, and if we choose to keep Stearns in, we're going to make the decision to keep PHS out," Mayor Peter Marchetti said. 

"The city cannot afford it all." 

He added that he would vote "no" on Pittsfield High School if the city is doubling down on Stearns. The city is also pursuing a statement of interest to the MSBA to fund repairs to the high school, which is almost a century old. 

"I'm not going to go to the taxpayers and say, 'give me two debt exclusions so we can build new schools,'" the mayor said. 

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