Pittsfield School Committee OKs $87M Budget for FY27
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee has approved an $87 million budget for fiscal year 2027 that uses the Fair Student Funding formula to assign resources.
On Wednesday, the committee approved its first budget for the term. Morningside Community School will close at the end of the academic year and is excluded.
"This has been quite a process, and throughout this process, we have been faced with the task of closing a $4.3 million budget deficit while making meaningful improvements in student outcomes for next year," interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips said.
"Throughout this process, we've asked ourselves, 'What should we keep doing? What should we stop doing? And what should we start doing?' I do want to acknowledge that we are presenting a budget that has been made with difficult decisions, but it has been made carefully, responsibly, and collaboratively, again with a clear focus first on supporting our students."
The proposed $87,200,061 school budget for FY27 includes $68,886,061 in state Chapter 70 funding, $18 million from the city, and $345,000 in school choice and Richmond tuition revenues. It is an approximately $300,000 increase from the Pittsfield Public Schools' FY26 budget of $86.9 million.
The City Council will take a vote on May 19.
Thirteen schools are budgeted for FY27, Morningside retired, and the middle school restructuring is set to move forward. The district believes important milestones have been met to move forward with transitioning to an upper elementary and junior high school model in September; Grades 5 and 6 attending Herberg Middle School, and Grades 7 and 8 attending Reid Middle School.
"I also want to acknowledge that change is never easy. It is never simple, but I truly do believe that it is through these challenges that we're able to examine our systems, strengthen our practices, strengthen our relationships, and ultimately make decisions that will better our students," Phillips said.
Included in the FY27 spending plan is $2.6 million for administration, $62.8 million for instructional costs, $7.5 million for other school services, and $7.2 million for operations and maintenance.
Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Bonnie Howland reported that they met with Pittsfield High School and made two additions to its staff: an assistant principal and a family engagement attendance coordinator.
In March, the PHS community argued that a cut of $653,000 would be too much of a burden for the school to bear. The school was set to see a reduction of seven teachers (plus one teacher of deportment) and an assistant principal of teaching and learning, and a guidance counselor repurposed across the district; the administration said that after "right-sizing" the classrooms, there were initially 14 teacher reductions proposed for PHS.
"I do believe that it's a student-centered budget," School Committee member Heather McNeice said.
"As a teacher, I don't love everything about this budget. I hate to lose teachers, and at a time when it's so hard to find teachers, the thought of anybody walking out the door that can't be replaced is heartbreaking."
However, when the personal connection is taken out of it, and her lens is adjusted, McNeice said she believes the budget is student-focused, reasonable, and justified.
She and other committee members recognized that the central office line looks alarmingly high when there are significant cuts, and asked the administration to explain those line items. Longtime member Daniel Elias pointed out that the City Council will consistently examine if PPS is "top-heavy" come budget time.
Phillips explained that the administrative line has fewer individuals, and salary increases for three or four people can very easily become 10 percent, compared to the hundreds of staff in the district. It also includes salary adjustments made by the prior administration, Howland added.
School Committee member Ciara Batory was not convinced and voted against the budget. She criticized that cuts are in the classroom, rather than the Mercer Administration Building, and said it was not a student-centered budget.
Batory also wanted a more in-depth look at the proposal in writing.
"I just don't understand how this is student-based, but everything regarding classrooms is cut, like teachers, paraprofessionals, even supplies," she said.
The interim superintendent, who began work last summer, said it was a slim office walking in, and that supplies were budgeted based on what was spent in prior years. Leftover funds can be allocated to the line item if needed.
"What I will say is that I made decisions at central office in order to hold us accountable for improvement, and every school received an allocation, and every school was able to advocate for what was inside of this budget," Phillips said.
Elias reported that there were cuts to personnel at the Mercer Administration Building in the past four budget cycles, and said it is critical in advancing this budget to the council to have data on how PPS stacks up against similar communities.
Tags: fiscal 2027, Pittsfield Public Schools, pittsfield_budget,
