MassDOT Aeronautics Applies For AID Grant

01:20PM / Sunday, February 18, 2024Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — The Aeronautics Division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has applied for $1 million in funding from the Federal Highway Administration's "Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration" Program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and authorized to accelerate innovation in highway transportation.

The proposal represents the second stage of a three-phase project, using Unmanned Aircraft Systems ("UAS," also known as drones,) to create a "digital software systems infrastructure." The system converts UAS remotely sensed data into actionable information designed to help optimize the management processes and operations of MassDOT's Highway Division.

Funding for this stage would complement the project's initial phase, for which MassDOT Aeronautics received $1 million from the AID program in 2021. MassDOT matched the initial AID grant funding with additional funding of $250,000, the same proposed match for the current proposal.

"The AID grant application represents a unique opportunity to improve the safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of the state's transportation system while providing a transformative national model for public transportation management," said Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt.

The UAS-based digital infrastructure is designed to integrate with MassDOT Highway projects across Massachusetts, ranging from rural to urban locations, supporting a range of projects, including advanced bridge inspection, asset mapping, construction monitoring, and highway corridor asset detection/inspection.

"The Highway Division looks forward to an active partnership as this invaluable MassDOT Aeronautics' project works to make surface transportation safer, more responsive to public needs and more adaptable to new technologies," said MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver.

The AID grant request is part of the Healey-Driscoll Administration's whole of government strategy to compete for federal dollars with recent successes, including a $372 million award towards rebuild the Cape Cod Bridges and $108 million for West-East rail improvements, as well as more than $1.9 billion in still pending federal funding applications to advance projects that further equity, mobility, competitiveness, workforce development and climate resiliency in communities across Massachusetts.

"The AID application leverages Massachusetts' strength as a hub for innovation to improve the safety of our transportation," said Director of Federal Funds and Infrastructure Quentin Palfrey. "We look forward to working with our federal partners as part of our whole-of-government approach to compete for the historic federal investments made by the Biden administration in the future of transportation, energy, technology, and more."

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Pittsfield School Committee Sees Budget Calendar, Chapter 70 Concerns

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:28AM / Monday, January 19, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Public Schools kicked off its fiscal year 2027 budget calendar, and are again facing uncertainties with state Chapter 70 funding.

During the first meeting of the new term on Wednesday, the School Committee OK'd an FY27 budget calendar that plans the committee's vote in mid-April. Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips stressed the importance of equity in this process.

"It's really important for us through these next couple of months to look at our different schools, our different needs, different student demographics, and really understand, are we just assigning resources equally, or are we really assigning them based on what different groups of students need?" she said.

The district could lose up to $5 million in Chapter 70 funding from declining enrollment, specifically of low-income students. This is a similar issue that PPS saw in 2024, when the discovery of 11 students meeting those income guidelines put the district in the higher funding category and added $2.4 million to the school budget.

"We are in a funding category, Group 11, for a district with a large percentage of low-income students, and that number could fluctuate depending on who exited the district," Phillips explained.

"So we're going to do our best to understand that, but ultimately, these numbers will impact the budget that is proposed to us by the governor."

According to the budget calendar, a draft budget will be presented in March, followed by a hearing in early April, and the School Committee is set to vote on the budget in mid-April. The City Charter requires it to be adopted before May 1, and a meeting with the City Council must occur no later than May 31.

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Bonnie Howland provided an overview of the Chapter 70 funding and budget process. The budget calendar, she said, is designed to really support transparency, coordination, and legal compliance.

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