image description — Arthur Alpert, left, Michael Case and Bonny DiTomasso were thanked by Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis and Chair Richard Peters for their service on the Central Berkshire Regional School Committee. The three are not running for re-election.

Write-Ins Needed for CBRSD Committee Vacancies

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
12:31PM / Saturday, October 26, 2024Print Story | Email Story

DALTON, Mass. — Last Thursday's Central Berkshire School Committee meeting marked the end of term for three members, who have decided not to run for their seats again.

The committee said goodbye to Vice Chair Bonny DiTomasso and members Art Alpert and Michael Case.

These members have given their time and passion to improve the district, committee Chair Richard Peters said.

"Their support has been invaluable to the families and students at Central Berkshire [by] making sure we have the right resources and their input around their knowledge about teaching and learning and social, social and emotional learning," Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said.

Voters will have many decisions to make during the Nov. 5 elections, including a new president, five ballot questions, and a new state representative for the Third Berkshire District.

They will also decide how to fill eight School Committee seats, six of which will require write-in votes.

Dalton has three open committee seats, while Becket, Hinsdale, and Washington each have one. Since no candidates are running for these positions, they will need to be filled through write-in votes.

The Peru and Windsor seats also have vacancies. Peru's Planning Board member Kimberly Wetherell is running for the Peru School Committee seat, and School Committee member Elizabeth Lounsbury is running for re-election in Windsor.

DiTomasso, Alpert, and Case were presented each with a floral arrangement.

DiTomasso has been on the committee for 8 1/2 years, Alpert for six years, and Case for almost 13 years.

Case said he learned a lot about small-town politics, how to work with others, and gained an appreciation of community during his tenure.

A highlight of DiTomasso's time on the committee was getting Wahconah Regional High School built $2 million under budget during a pandemic.

Alpert said school boards often get a bad reputation, but this school committee has worked together for the betterment of the school community, the children, and the staff.

Tags: CBRSD, election 2024,

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Social Service Organizations Highlight Challenges, Successes at Poverty Talk

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
08:04AM / Sunday, April 05, 2026

Dr. Jennifer Michaels of the Brien Center demonstrates how to use Narcan. Easy access to the drug has cut overdose deaths in the county by nearly half.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Recent actions at the federal level are making it harder for people to climb out of poverty.

Brad Gordon, executive director of Upside413, said he felt like he was doing a disservice by not recognizing national challenges and how they draw a direct line from choices being made by the Trump administration and the challenges the United States is facing.

"They more generally impact people's ability to work their way out of poverty, and that's really, that's really the overarching dynamic," he said.

"Poverty is incredibly corrosive, and it impacts all the topics that we'll talk about today."

His comments came during a conversation on poverty hosted by Berkshire Community Action Council. Eight local service agency leaders detailed how they are supporting people during the current housing and affordability crisis, and the Berkshire state delegation spoke to their own efforts.

The event held on March 27 at the Berkshire Athenaeum included a working lunch and encouraged public feedback.

"All of this information that we're going to gather today from both you and the panelists is going to drive our next three-year strategic plan," explained Deborah Leonczyk, BCAC's executive director.

The conversation ranged from health care and housing production to financial literacy and child care. Participating agencies included Upside 413, The Brien Center, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, MassHire Berkshire Career Center, Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Child Care of the Berkshires.

The federal choices Gordon spoke about included allocating $140 billion for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investing $38 billion to convert warehouses into detention centers, cutting $1 trillion from Medicaid over 10 years, a proposed 50 percent increase in the defense budget, and cutting federal funding for supportive housing programs.

Gordon pointed to past comments about how the region can't build its way out of the housing crisis because of money. He withdrew that statement, explaining, "You know what? That's bullshit, actually."

"I'm going to be honest with you, that is absolute bullshit. I have just observed over the last year or so how we're spending our money and the amount of money that we're spending on the federal side, and I'm no longer saying in good conscience that we can't build our way out of this," he said.

Upside 413 provided a "Housing Demand in Western Massachusetts" report that was done in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's Donahue Institute of Economic and Public Policy Research. It states that around 23,400 units are needed to meet current housing demand in Western Mass; 1,900 in Berkshire County in 2025.

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