Pittsfield School Committee Votes to Close Morningside
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There were tears as the School Committee on Wednesday voted to close Morningside Community School at the end of the school year.
Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips said the purpose of considering the closure is to fulfill the district's obligation to ensure every student has access to a learning environment that best supports academic growth and achievement, school climate, equitable access to resources, and long-term success.
"While fiscal implications are included, the7 closure of the school is fundamentally driven by the student performance, their learning conditions, the building inadequacy, and equitable student access, rather than the district's budget," she said.
"…The goal is not to save money. The goal is to reinvest that money to make change, specifically for our Morningside students, and then for the whole school building, as a whole."
Over the last month or so, the district has considered whether to retire the open concept, community school at the end of the school year.
Morningside, built in the 1970s, currently serves 374 students in grades prekindergarten through Grade 5, including a student population with 88.2 percent high-needs, 80.5 percent low-income, and 24.3 percent English learners. Its students will be reassigned to Allendale, Capeless, Egremont, and Williams elementary schools.
The school is designated as "Requiring Assistance or Intervention," with a 2025 accountability percentile of seventh, despite moderate progress over the past three years, and benchmark data continues to show urgent literacy concerns in several grades.
School Committee member and former Morningside student Sarah Muil, through tears, made the motion to approve the school's retirement at the end of this school year.
"I really want to be able to keep the faculty that we have currently, and I want to be able to make sure these students have the resources they deserve, wherever they might go," she said.
"…I really am looking at what is in the best interest of these students."
Mayor Peter Marchetti said he will not give up his commitment to the Morningside community, and the city will continue to use the building. A 47-year Morningside resident, he described the decision as "heart-wrenching," but giving students a fighting chance and a level playing field.
"I am going to begrudgingly vote yes to retire Morningside Community School, but not yes to turning my back to a neighborhood," he said.
"I'm voting yes to a future of a neighborhood. I'm voting yes to the future hub that we can build and relationships that we can rebuild."
Tags: Morningside, school closures,
