St. Agnes Academy Appoints New Principal and Vice Principal

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DALTON, Mass. — St. Agnes Academy has announced the appointment of Paula Curti as Principal and Joseph Maffuccio as Vice Principal, effective June 13.

Curti, from Dalton, and Maffuccio, from Pittsfield, will succeed Fadia Makdisi.

Rev. Christopher Malatesta, pastor of St. Agnes Church, stated that Curti and Maffuccio are committed educators with unique leadership skills who will "collaborate to grow the Academy while maintaining high academic standards and Catholic values and traditions."

A search committee, comprising SAA and diocesan administrators, faculty, school board, and community members, selected the new leadership.

Curti, who joined St. Agnes in 2020, has served as a second-grade teacher at St. Cecelia's School in Pawtucket, R.I., and later as an administrative assistant and fifth-grade teacher at St. Agnes. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in education from Rhode Island College.

Maffuccio has served as the Middle School math teacher at St. Agnes since 2023, following an 18-year career with the Pittsfield public schools. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and psychology from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), a master's degree in education from Fitchburg State University, and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in School Administration from AIC in Springfield. St. Agnes Academy, founded in 1957, currently has an enrollment of 145 students from pre-school through eighth grade.

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Dalton Police Station OK for Zoning, Once Location Is Chosen

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The proposed police station is eligible for a special permit in all zones except a Planned Industrial Development zone, following a public hearing and board consensus. 
 
The town has been exploring solutions to address the station's needs, forming the Public Safety Advisory Committee in July 2024 after reports highlighted the department's deteriorating condition.
 
Now more than a year into the initiative, progress seems to have stalled because of conflicting opinions on where the proposed station would go, Police Chief Deanna Strout said during previous meetings. 
 
The sticking points have been cost and location, which has had the advisory committee in gridlock for months. Several public officials have expressed their desire to have a new station constructed on town-owned land for the cost savings. 
 
However, the only land sizable to fit the facility is next to the Senior Center, but some neighbors have conveyed their disapproval for that space, which had been earmarked for affordable housing.
 
So, the committee sought guidance from the Zoning Board but left with few answers. 
 
"We wanted to have a discussion with you as a board about where you would consider this and what your thoughts as a board were specifically,"  Town Manager Eric Anderson said to the board at the Tuesday meeting. 
 
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