MSBA Greenlights Pittsfield's Crosby/Conte Proposal
PITTSFIELD, Mass.—The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has accepted a statement of interest for the proposed Crosby/Conte build.
On Wednesday, Superintendent Joseph Curtis reported that the MSBA met on Friday and accepted the project into its queue. The proposal involves rebuilding Conte Community School and Crosby Elementary on the West Street site with shared facilities, addressing outdated infrastructure, insufficient layouts, and significant repair needs.
Curtis said earlier that day, the district participated in module one of the work for possibly a new building on West Street. Part of that work is a feasibility study.
The Crosby/Conte plan has the potential to house grades pre-kindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another, with both maintaining their own identities and administrations.
"The feasibility study also studies the structure of our district, the enrollment, the viability of grade spans," he said.
"So what I want to do is, if, with your permission, is really dig into that, we just get a couple of documents just today, and then report back to the committee on the level of detail and what is studied in that feasibility study so then we can possibly make a decision, or the committee can, that might alter this timeline even further."
Curtis also corrected a media inaccuracies claiming that grade alignments were already set in stone. iBerkshires had not yet reported on this.
"I did want to just correct that there was an inaccuracy in that coverage that stated that I had determined grade span ranges already," he said.
"So that was not covered correctly."
He pointed out that the district has a "rather large" Middle School Restructuring Committee of parents, teachers, and community members. The panel is working in three groups research grade spans across the Commonwealth, educational programming and educational models, and solicit feedback.
The committee recently decided that it would put a recommendation forward in mid-February if it felt confident doing so. The recommendation would be followed by public hearings covering grade spans.
The School Committee could then decide if another public hearing is needed or delay the decision timeline.
"And so they would have one more research meeting, which would be on January 6. They would start to formulate some recommendations within their group on the 6th, a little more time for refinement on the 3rd and there'd be shareouts of the groups," Curtis explained.
"And then we would start at that meeting on the 3rd to, if we can, I want to be clear about that, come to some kind of consensus for a recommendation that the committee members yet to be nominated to come to the school committee on February 12."
The group developed for community members, staff, parents and guardians, and students in grades 4-9.
"The committee wanted to stress that this surveying is the digital participation and then at our next meeting, they're establishing focus group questions, which they've already been working on. They're going to identify locations to have those focus groups, which there will be in-person opportunities and via Zoom," Curtis added.
"And so that'll be finalized at the January 6 meeting. Outreach will occur throughout the February 12 deadline, if you will. We capture anecdotal feedback through the focus groups and there's always an exit ticket, if you will, or a survey. So all that will be available for their final decision."
School committee member Sara Hathaway said there is a good range of people, parents, teachers, and even bus drivers represented on the committee.
"We've had good input and opportunities for participation and it feels as if people are sharing freely their concerns about the current situation but also their hopes and their ideas for what we could be," she said.
"It’s a very positive process, I think, ably led by our superintendent putting the right questions before us and giving us the right amount of opportunity to affect the outcomes."
Chair William Cameron said he is most concerned about the educational models in the middle schools.
"That is, what are we going to do in the middle schools educationally, in terms of programming mode, modes of instruction, course offerings, after-school activities," he asked.
"What are we going to do so that the middle schools become attractive, rather than for justification or otherwise, objects of criticism?"
Curtis reported that there is a group specifically designed for education models, which includes electives, vocational opportunities, and honors opportunities.
In August, the School Committee approved an ambitious timeline that could see the city's middle school reconfiguration implemented as soon as the 2025-26 academic year.
If all goes according to plan, the committee will decide on grade spans and the educational models for the potentially newly configured schools in February. The administration would work out an implementation plan in March.
A couple of restructuring efforts are running parallel to the Crosby/Conte SOI.
The School Building Needs Commission is overseeing a district restructuring study that addresses the physical and educational needs of Pittsfield Public Schools. It includes possible consolidations and different grade spans.
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