Heating problems caused an early dismissal on Monday. It was discovered that the boilers were not functioning properly early Monday and around 8 a.m., the school was notified of electrical and boiler issues that could not be rectified.

 

Students were dismissed at 11 a.m.

 

"At this time, we are planning to resume normal school operations tomorrow, Tuesday, January 14, 2025," Principal William Wood posted on social media around 10 a.m.

 

"We will provide further updates if anything changes."

 

That changed early Monday evening with Herberg families being informed of the continued closure. 

 

"As of now, the heating and electrical issues that disrupted the normal operations at Herberg today have not been resolved," Superintendent Joseph Curtis informed the school community. "Therefore, Herbert Middle School will remain closed on Tuesday, January 14, 2025."

 

Temperatures are expected to dip back down into the 20s on Tuesday.

 

The closure means that the school will be under the mandated 180 days of classroom time; Curtis said the missed day will be made up in June, meaning the last day of school for Herberg will be June 18. 

 

"We want to take a moment to express our gratitude to our city maintenance department for the hard work and dedication in addressing this issue as quickly as possible," the superintendent wrote. "We expect the matter to be resolved by tomorrow and will provide families with an update on the building status early Tuesday evening." 

 

Parents with questions or concerns were advised to contact the principal at wwood@pittsfield.net or contact the school's main office at 413-448-9640, Ext. 4001, during office hours.

 

Boiler problems are not unique to the district.

 

Just days before Pittsfield High School got a temporary boiler in October, it closed for two days because of dropping temperatures causing discomfort inside the building.

 

The school remains amid a heating system replacement, as the former boilers exceeded their useful life.

 

In June, the City Council authorized the borrowing of $3 million for new boilers at Pittsfield High School — a project that was originally going to be funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.

 

The nearly 100-year-old boilers are original to the building and have exceeded their useful life, officials say. They are converted locomotive engines that are extremely inefficient and expensive to maintain.

 

One boiler was non-operational and another was severely compromised.

 

At last week's School Building Needs Commission meeting, Building Maintenance Director Brian Filiault reported that new boilers will be installed later in the month.  

 

"On Monday, the 13th, we're going to fire the boilers up and do a little burn-off on them to get them started and on the 20th, we're going to actually put them into service if everything goes well on that," he said.

 

"As it stands right now, the job is beautiful. The quality, the workmanship, it's incredible what the school's got. Every bit of this project has been very smooth for the most part. It's a big undertaking but they're looking good and I think we're in good shape."

 

Editor's note: write-thru and updated at 5:05 p.m. on Jan. 13.