Pittsfield School Committee Hears Considerations for Proposed West Side Build
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — City leaders hope to see a new West Side school in five years, despite knowing that is an ambitious goal.
In envisioning a new campus, in addition to the school's population and construction, planners are considering another access road for better traffic flow, a modern library program, and whether there will be an auditorium.
"It is a lot of work. It's really exciting work to know that we are building a building not only for our current generation of students, but we're also building this building to be there for typically at least 50 years," Superintendent Latifah Phillips said to the School Committee last week.
In January, the School Committee will decide whether the project will be a single-school rebuild, a two-school consolidation, or a three-school consolidation. A request for proposals was made to study three enrollments: Just Crosby, Crosby and Conte, or Crosby, Conte, and Stearns.
Phillips explained the goal is to open the doors by at least 2031, recognizing that it might seem like an ambitious timeline, but the district is trying to move forward responsibly and quickly because of the school's condition.
"We've seen presentations on Crosby, the status of the building, and they are doing great in that building, and they are making it work; they are not making it a barrier, but I think when we went to visit the facilities [in other communities], you really go in and you feel inspired and excited to learn partly by the facility that you're in," the superintendent said.
"And so instead of the students having to come and see the best of boarded walls and murals and artwork covering the walls, they're going to be really excited when they walk into a building that's comparable to the buildings that we've gone to visit."
Crosby recently improved its accountability score and exited "requiring assistance or intervention" status.
There was a visioning session on Oct. 21, where representatives from the three considered schools discussed the learning needs of students at different ages, enrollment options, floorplan configurations, and more.
Meetings were held with the Parks and Recreation Department to review the current use of fields and landscaping at the West Street site, and with the Special Education Department to look at its current programming and what would be required of the new building.
Community forums are planned for this month, and the administration's leadership team is drafting a proposed educational program, the first draft expected to be complete by Nov. 20.
Phillips said one of the things they are learning from the middle school restructuring, particularly with Reid Middle School, is that another entry point would be helpful for buses.
"One of the challenges we're seeing with transportation is being able to get in and out of schools really easily when the school buses are sharing the line with families picking up and dropping off," she explained.
"So we definitely have the opportunity to be able to build another road; the question is, what is the cost, and are we willing to pick up that cost to be able to have a second road?"
Phillips wants the district to reflect its elementary library program, recognizing that students need access to books they love to increase literacy, as well as other forms of media in the modern day.
Right now, Pittsfield elementary schools have the space but not really an active library program, she explained, so they should be thinking about how to build a space for students' enrichment and core literacy development during this process.
"We're seeing a lot of libraries now where it's not just the books on the shelves. How are we incorporating any type of media technology access within a modern-day library?" Phillips added.
Pittsfield is seeking up to 80 percent reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority for the project, though some elements, like roads and auditorium spaces, are not reimbursable.
Crosby has an auditorium, and the process has not yet determined if it can be preserved or restored. Some layouts combine the cafeteria or gymnasium with the auditorium, and some larger schools have two gyms.
These are all things that need to be taken into account, Phillips said.
She explained that the district has to commit to this building not only for 2031, but for 2081 as well [the average estimated lifespan of a school is about 50 years].
"We are really trying to move the process as quickly and responsibly as possible, because there will be other things that result in delays that are beyond our control."
There will be opportunities for feedback and review with the broader community, and the School Committee will vote on it.
Tags: Crosby/Conte project, MSBA,
