Callahan Named Finalist for North Adams Superintendent

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Superintendent Search Committee has put forward one candidate to lead the public schools: Assistant Superintendent Timothy Callahan.
 
The School Committee on Monday morning said Callahan, former principal of Drury High School, will be interviewed publicly at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, in the City Council Chambers. The session will be broadcast on Northern Berkshire Community Television. 
 
Should the committee approve, he will succeed Barbara Malkas, who is retiring this June after nine years as superintendent. 
 
Callahan has worked in the North Adams Public Schools for 27 years, holding multiple positions. This has included teaching English at Drury, director of curriculum and instruction and assistant principal, and more recently director of technology for the district and, since 2022, assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and assessment. 
 
According to a statement from the School Committee, Callahan was selected as the leading choice after an extensive national search and careful consideration of numerous qualified candidates. The district received applications and the search committee conducted five Zoom interviews. 
 
He received his bachelor of arts in English literature from Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., a master of education from Cambridge College, and a doctorate of education in educational leadership from Russell Sage College in Troy, N.Y. His core values include equity, creativity, and collaboration, and he believes in setting high expectations for students while providing them with high levels of support.
 
During the public session next week, Callahan will be interviewed by the committee members as part of the final
evaluation process. The meeting will also be accessible via Zoom video conference and the link will be posted as part of the public meeting announcement.
 
While the committee will not hold a "hearing of visitors" during this meeting, students, faculty, staff, families, and community members are encouraged to submit their questions ahead of time via a Google form here. Questions must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 17, to be included for consideration.

Tags: search committee,   superintendent,   

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Clarksburg Looking to AG's Receivership Program to Help With Distressed Properties

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

 
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The town is looking to move two properties into receivership to get them cleaned up and back on the tax rolls. 
 
Health Agent Valerie Bird has raised the idea last month when a Daniels Road property was ordered vacated for multiple code violations. Bird and the Select Board didn't believe the owner had the capacity to address the myriad issues. 
 
Bird recommended the Attorney General's receivership program, which takes blighted property and, through the court system, gets it into the hands of a developer who can rejuvenate it. 
 
Maja Kazmierczak, assistant attorney general with the Neighborhood Renewal Division, offered a virtual presentation to the board on Monday, explaining the program and how it might be able to help Clarksburg. 
 
"We've partnered with over 170 municipalities, and we definitely have over probably about 215 active properties that we're working on," she said. "We've had just about $715,000 in back taxes returned to municipalities through our program."
 
The program has been around for 30 years in various forms, with the goal to turn abandoned and blighted properties that have code violations into safe housing. 
 
The state's receivership statute allows the court to appoint a receiver to a property if there are code violations and there is no one to repair them.
 
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