Pittsfield Schools Hear Community Feedback on Morningside Closure
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Public Schools are gathering feedback on a potential closure of Morningside Community School before a recommendation is made.
There were community meetings last week, and if the district holds a public hearing, it would likely need to be before the School Committee's next meeting to inform the recommendation. Officials recognize a "deep love" for the Burbank Street school, and say the decision would not be taken lightly.
Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips shared the considerations for a closure with the School Committee on Wednesday: 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.
Staff and community meetings were held on Monday and Thursday. One of the interim superintendent's takeaways after meeting with faculty was their commitment to caring for students and the school.
"So it was with heaviness that they, I would say most of the staff, felt that the facility really is not conducive to our students' success, but they also felt a heaviness because of the love and commitment to the school," she reported.
"And so I didn't want to not share that, because there is a deep love for Morningside Community School, even though there have been many years where it has been struggling with performance."
Phillips said the open classroom concept is probably the biggest driver, and whether students can receive their greatest education there. This is what raised the question of whether funding could follow students into existing, under-utilized, nearby schools.
Last Monday, the first of three community meetings were held to solicit feedback about the possible closure of Morningside for the 2026-2027 school year and redistribution of its students to other city schools. Meetings are also scheduled for last Thursday morning and at 4 p.m. at the school.
The 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 the proposed $87.2 million school budget for fiscal year 2027, Morningside would see $5.2 million, as well as additional teachers and support staff. With a .4 percent increase from the previous year, the Pittsfield Public Schools faced a more than $4 million shortfall.
The Fair Student Funding model was used to prepare the spending plan, which allocates resources to schools based on students' needs, rather than solely historical staffing patterns or prior year budgets.
"We absolutely are committed to providing Morningside students with an equitable learning opportunity, and it's going to require us to provide more for the building," Phillips said.
"And so we will present to you tonight a budget for Morningside, should it move forward, but we also recognize that we had to put a lot of resources just to ensure that the students can have a level playing field, level education."
After analyzing enrollment for the proposed Crosby/Conte build that Pittsfield is seeking funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority for, the MSBA concluded that PPS enrollment is not expected to increase. While the project will combine Crosby Elementary School, Conte Community School, and possibly Stearns Elementary School, that leaves five remaining elementaries with declining enrollment.
"We are going to have to address our elementary school size," Phillips said, explaining that the current boundaries are drawn in a way that some schools have a "very small" number of children.
Phillips said this is a conversation that will have to happen in the near future because there is only so much money that can be put into the smaller buildings, and there may be greater needs, but because there are not enough students, it's hard to meet those needs.
Morningside received the highest elementary allocation in FY27, with Conte close behind with $5,224,700.
"I think that it has been a challenging environment for the students, and that is real, but we have to believe in our students, and believe that if we give them the best, they will be able to thrive," Phillips said.
"And the same with our staffing, I think in the meeting with staff, especially the long serving staff, they have poured themselves into the school and are committed and recognize that even when you put everything in there, the facility is working against you a little bit, and you may not be getting 100 percent out of your effort, just because of the challenge of the environment."
About 63 percent of PPS students identify as low income, and at Morningside, more than 80 percent of students identify as low income. More than 88 percent of Morningside is identified as "high needs," compared to 71.5 percent district-wide.
The student body is diverse, with nearly 40 percent of students identifying as Hispanic or Latino, 20 percent of students identifying as Black or African American, and 11 percent of students identifying with multiple races.
Nearly 27 percent of students' first language was not English, and more than 24 percent of students are English learners.
During the community meeting last Monday, parents expressed concerns over the availability of after-school and before-school programs at the other schools, specifically the "Kids Club," transportation, maintaining diversity if children are dispersed to different schools, and more.
Phillips grouped the feedback gathered so far into categories: community and identity, student supports and programming, staffing and training, student placement and safety, transportation and access, and communication and decision making. She heard the need for consistent before and after school care, summer meals, continued prekindergarten, and continued bilingual services.
If Morningside were closed, the district found that about 45 to 65 students would have a bus route to a new school.
"The staff had questions around staff assignment, continuity of the trusted educators that have always been with the students, and so we shared with them that the resources and the funding go with the student," she explained.
"So in many cases, the staff will also, if we were to make that decision, be distributed across the four other schools that are under consideration."
If the School Committee wanted to consider making a decision for the fall, the district would need to submit a form signed by the superintendent, mayor, and School Committee chair (which in Pittsfield is also the mayor) indicating the intention to close Morningside. It would need to include a plan for accommodating any displaced school programs and services, a plan for accommodating district students within the remaining schools, and a long-range plan for accommodating the district students based on enrollment projections.
Any future plans for the sale or lease of the property under the control of the district would need to be submitted, and any future plans for construction, renovation, addition, or lease of school facilities.
"My understanding is that part of the reason for asking these questions is because when it's been funded by the MSBA, there's like a certain time period that the facility is expected to be fully utilized, and that's about 50 years," Phillips said.
"Morningside right now is at 52 years, and so it does fall within the period where we have fully utilized the investment in the building."
Former educator Emily Day asked that the School Committee consider limiting transfers between schools, pointing out that the city's elementary schools have "very different" student populations.
"At Stearns, around 49 percent of our students with disabilities, while at Williams, only around 13 percent are. At Morningside, 24 percent of students are English language learners, while at Egremont, only 9 percent are. Finally, at Conte, 87 percent are low income, while only 35 percent of students at Williams are," she said.
"These disparities create very different needs for staffing, services, and support, and raise an important question about how we distribute resources."
A child who comes from a family where English is the primary language, who does not have a learning difference or physical disability, who has had enrichment opportunities or resources at home, this child will thrive in a traditional classroom with a capable teacher, she said, a child who does not speak English or who needs special education services or occupational or physical therapy, or who has not been in a school setting before will require much more to be successful.
Day said these are the multiple layers of support that a school like Morningside, Conte, or Stearns needs.
"Our superintendent and her team are proposing, with the Fair Student Funding model, putting resources where the student needs are greatest. If parents choose to transfer their student to a so-called "good school" and another classroom has to be added at that school, resources are effectively pulled away from a school that still has the greater needs and now less money to meet those needs," she concluded.
"… Achieving this goal becomes increasingly difficult if parents can transfer their children freely between schools, thereby reallocating vital resources. For this reason, I support a limit on student transfers, and I urge the School Committee to do the same."
Tags: Morningside, Pittsfield Public Schools, school closures,
