Pittsfield OKs Statement of Interest for Future PHS Repairs
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city will submit a statement of interest to the MSBA for repairs to Pittsfield High School.
In three consecutive days this week, the School Building Needs Commission, City Council, and School Committee authorized interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips to submit an SOI for repairs to the almost century-old building.
Mayor Peter Marchetti explained to councilors that they are asking to take a proactive approach to trying to get PHS into the queue for a future MSBA project.
"I think I don't need to share with all of you the condition of Pittsfield High School. I think you've probably all been in there and you know the condition of the high school," he said on Tuesday.
"So we're asking tonight for that first step to be taken, to put us in the queue. We are not asking for any funding request. We are not asking, 'Should we add on to the school? Should we take away from the school?' We are simply looking to get us into the queue, to get us into the eligibility phase, which will take about a year's time, and then hopefully get into the feasibility stage."
During a special meeting last Monday, the School Building Needs Commission unanimously voted to move forward with a statement of interest. The City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved submitting a PHS statement of interest, and that was followed by an affirmative vote from the School Committee on Wednesday.
Priority areas identified for an SOI to the MSBA Core Program will be for the replacement, renovation, or modernization of the heating system to increase energy conservation and decrease energy-related costs, and replacement or addition to obsolete buildings to provide a full range of programs consistent with state and local requirements.
This is what the school was found to be most eligible for. If invited into the program in December, a draft schedule places construction between 2031 and 2033.
The district submitted statements of interest for five schools since 2007, and only two have been accepted: Taconic High School in 2009 and the proposed Crosby/Conte elementary build in 2024. Marchetti pointed out that Taconic was accepted in 2008, and the new, $120 million school was not debuted until 2018, and unsuccessfully submitted for Crosby Elementary School, and Morningside and Conte Community Schools in 2011 and were not accepted.
Also on Wednesday, the committee voted to retire Morningside at the end of the school year. Conte is a part of a proposed combined build for Conte and Crosby, which was accepted into the MSBA queue in 2024.
"PHS is almost 100 years old. It was last renovated in 1975," Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said.
"And I think what I hear from the community sometimes is that we're too poor for something like this. We shouldn't be doing things like this. We should just settle for what we have because we can't afford it. And I think we need to aspire for more for our community and for our children."
She asked folks who are questioning the move to think about the type of school they would want their children to learn in, and what kind of school they would have wanted for themselves.
"Because our children deserve that, and when we invest, especially with the grant support from the state, it makes a difference. It makes a difference in how we feel about our community. It makes a difference with how others see us," she added.
Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said she hopes that her young children can attend PHS someday, and that many local parents want the same thing.
On Wednesday, Marchetti noted the first SOI priority seems funny because the school’s boilers were replaced a couple of years ago, "But we didn't replace all the infrastructure that goes with that, so the heat that needs to travel from the boiler to the third floor, farthest room needs repair in order for it to really work effectively."
The Crosby/Conte build would wrap up before construction on PHS would begin.
Tags: MSBA, PHS,
