North Adams School Committee Seeks New Members

08:42AM / Tuesday, September 01, 2026Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The North Adams School Committee will holding of a joint convention to elect two new members to fill current vacancies. The convention will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 5, in the library at Brayton Elementary School.

Legislative authority for this joint election is provided under the City Charter and applicable special acts: when a vacancy occurs on the School Committee, the City Council and the remaining School Committee members meet in joint convention to elect a person to serve until the first Monday in January following the next regular municipal election. The mayor, as chair of the School Committee, if present, will preside.

The School Committee is the governing board of the city's public school system. Its primary responsibilities are to establish the purposes, programs, and procedures that promote student achievement and to ensure prudent stewardship of school resources. The committee acts as a legislative body to set policy, selects an executive officer to implement policy, and evaluates outcomes — all in an open process that seeks input from the public, students, and staff; as outlined in North Adams School Committee Policy Reference Manual, policies BA and BB.

Call for Nominations:

Residents of North Adams who are registered voters and who wish to be considered for appointment to the School Committee are invited to submit a statement of interest. Nominations will be accepted by email to btassone@napsk12.org through 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026.

Timeline:

Tuesday, Aug. 25: School Committee to review process.
Monday, Aug. 31: Call for statements of interest issued; pre-convention meeting notice distributed.
Thursday, Sept. 24: Statements of interest accepted until 2 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 28: Nominations/statements of interest provided to all School Committee and City Council members.
Monday, Oct. 5: Joint convention to elect new School Committee member.

Convention Process:

The joint convention will be held in person in the Brayton Elementary School Library. Each qualified candidate may deliver a statement of up to three minutes. After each statement, up to 10 minutes will be reserved for questions from convention members.

Election requires a motion and second to initiate discussion; absent a second, the motion fails and the candidate is no longer considered, and another motion will be requested.

A roll call vote requiring a simple majority of convention members will decide the election. If a candidate does not receive a simple majority, they are removed from consideration and the process continues until a candidate attains a simple majority.

For more information about the process, eligibility, or to submit a statement of interest, contact Bobbi Tassone at btassone@napsk12.org.

Tags: board vacancies,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

Save & Earn with Greylock

3.30% APY 6-month certificate. Click to learn more! Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

North Adams Water Line Break Shuts Off Service on Ashland; McCann Dismisses Classes Early

Staff Reports iBerkshires
10:52AM / Friday, October 30, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A water main that broke Friday morning has affected water service south of Main Street along Ashland and Church streets and caused McCann Technical School to close early.

The break occurred shortly before 9 a.m. near the Roots Teen Center; Ashland Street between Summer Street and American Legion Drive was closed to traffic to allow crews to work on repairs.

"The way it was coming out, we were hoping it was a sprinkler line for the old Nassif's, but there's no sprinkler line in there, so it's a main line," said Commissioner of Public Services Timothy Lescarbeau. "We're trying to get it isolated. Once we get isolated, everything's coming back."

This break is causing areas of the city to have little to no water pressure.

McCann Technical posted that its Tea Room would be closed and then announced early dismissal for 11:15 a.m. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts has cancelled all classes.

The Water Department was opening connections around the affected area to close off the gates and redirect the flow until the line could be repaired. Water was flowing out of a hydrant past the post office and streaming down American Legion Drive.

American Legion Drive is open but the work crews are now in the intersection of Ashland and Summer Street and traffic will be disrupted. The city is asking that motorists and pedestrians avoid the affected area whenever possible "to allow our crews to work safely and efficiently."

For questions or concerns, contact the Water Department at 413-662-3157. In the event of an emergency, contact the Dispatch Center at 413-664-4944, Ext. 1.

View Full Story