Pittsfield Accepting Applications for Senior Tax Work-Off Program

07:52AM / Wednesday, May 14, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The City of Pittsfield is now accepting applications for its Senior Tax Work-Off Program for Fiscal Year 2026.

To be eligible, applicants must be owners of residential property in Pittsfield and 60 years of age or older at the time of application.

Completed program applications must be postmarked or received by the Assessors' Office by May 30, 2025. Current municipal employees are not eligible to participate.

The program allows for a maximum of two participants per eligible property, with a total tax abatement limit of $2,000 per property. The tax work-off abatement, whether used alone or in combination with other exemptions, cannot exceed the annual taxes owed to the city. Income eligibility will be determined based on locally adopted guidelines derived from Massachusetts General Law Chapter 59, Section 5, clause 41D, with an additional $5,000 allowance. Participant selection will be based on financial need and will be valid for one year.

Qualified volunteers who are not initially selected for the program will be placed on a waiting list based on need, should other opportunities arise. The city is not obligated to offer an alternative position if a volunteer declines an assignment.

Income limits for the program are set at a maximum yearly income of $46,106 for married applicants and $38,798 for individual applicants. All volunteer work must be completed between June 1, 2025, and Nov. 30, 2025.

The program application is available on the city's website at http://cityofpittsfield.org/city_hall/board_of_assessors/index.php. Applications can also be obtained at the Assessors' Office, located in City Hall, Room 108, 70 Allen St.

For additional information, contact the Assessors' Office at (413) 395-0102.

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Pittsfield Schools Schedule Morningside, Budget Hearings This Week

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:23AM / Monday, April 06, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee will hold another public hearing for the potential closure of Morningside Community School.

On Thursday, April 9, at 6 p.m., community members will have the chance to give feedback in the Reid Middle School library. Last month, the Pittsfield Public Schools announced the possible closure of Morningside, which serves elementary grades, for the 2026-2027 school year and redistribution of its students to other city schools.

In the last couple of weeks, the district has solicited input from employees and community members through meetings at the school.

Morningside Community School was built in the mid-1970s with an open classroom concept. Morningside serves about 374 students and has a 7 percent accountability score, outperformed by 93 percent of the state.

For fiscal year 2027, the district has allocated about $5.2 million for the school. The committee has also requested a version of the proposed $87.2 million district budget with Morningside closed.

Pittsfield has another open concept school, Conte Community School, that is planned to consolidate with Crosby Elementary School, and possibly Stearns Elementary School, in a new building on the Crosby site by 2030. The status of the project's owner's project manager will be discussed on Tuesday, April 7, at 5 p.m. at Taconic High School during the School Building Needs Commission meeting.

That leaves the school officials wondering if Morningside students could have better educational outcomes if resources followed them to other nearby schools. Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips has stressed that a decision has not yet been made.

Considerations for the school’s closure include: The feasibility of the facility to provide a conducive teaching and learning environment with an open campus design, the funding allocation needed to ensure Morningside students can have equitable learning opportunities, and declining enrollment across Pittsfield elementary schools.