County Business Leaders to Attend U.S. Chamber Business Seminar

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Michael Supranowicz, President and CEO of Berkshire Chamber of Commerce; June Roy-Martin, Manager, Communications, HR & Business Development for Quality Printing Company; and Heather Boulger, the Executive Director of the Berkshire Regional Employment Board were selected by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce to attend the Business LEADs Institute, a three-day seminar in Washington, D.C on June 1 – 3.

Selected for their leadership in the community, Supranowicz, Roy-Martin, and Boulger will join 32 other business leaders from around the nation to learn how the business community can utilize its assets to drive positive transformation in communities across America in education and workforce training.

“Educating and training Americans for the jobs of the 21st century is essential to long-term economic growth in this country,” said Arthur J. Rothkopf, Senior Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “This program will allow the business community to play an active role in improving student success and the United State’s ability to compete globally.”

The seminar, part of a $2.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is the first of five Business LEADs Institutes which will develop and train a network of business leaders on education issues, network organization, and communications to empower them to be effective advocates for improving America’s education system.

“These three individuals have proven to be deeply committed to the success of the Berkshire business community and its citizens,” said Rothkopf. “The Business LEADs program will provide leaders like Mike, June and Heather with the knowledge and resources to help prepare the next generation of young people for a rapidly changing world.”

The Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW) is the non profit, non partisan, 501(c)3 affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. ICW promotes the rigorous educational standards and effective job training systems needed to preserve the strength of America's greatest economic resource, its workforce.

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.


About Berkshire Chamber of Commerce

The Berkshire Chamber was established to identify and serve the needs and interests of the Berkshire business community, creating an environment conducive to the growth and sustainability of business. The Berkshire Chamber is a proud recipient of a U.S. Chamber 4-Star Accreditation.

About Quality Printing Company

Quality Printing Company has been in business since 1963 and offers state-of-the-art marketing services in digital and commercial printing to businesses in the Berkshires and throughout the Northeast. It also offers complete digital pre-press, bindery, fulfillment and mailing services.

About the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board

The Berkshire County Regional Employment Board, Inc. is a private-sector driven Board of Directors which brokers relationships between business and providers of education/training programs, implements youth programs, conducts labor market analysis, and sets policy concerning management and allocation of federal and state workforce development resources to best serve job seekers and employers in Berkshire County.
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Pittsfield Council Passes $232.7M Budget

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council unanimously approved a $232.7 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year. 

It is a modest, almost 2.9 percent increase from FY26. 

"I do want to give the community kind of a heads up as we move forward on budgets. What we see coming out of the federal government that's trickling down to the states, it's going to be harder and harder for us as a community to meet our needs under the Proposition 2 1/2," Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said. 

"We're going to have challenges, as we've seen communities across the state trying to override the Proposition 2 1/2, because we have dwindling amounts of money coming from the state and federal government." 

She pointed out that, at the same time, utility bills are going up for both residents and the city, as are the costs of pavement and other items. 

The amended budget of $232,777,720, down from the $232,782,090 originally proposed, includes cuts to the Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the restoration of funds for councilors to attend the annual Massachusetts Municipal Association conference. 

The Pittsfield Public Schools' $86,855,061 budget includes $68,886,061 in state Chapter 70 funding and $18 million from the city. With $345,000 in school choice and Richmond tuition revenues, it totals $87,200,061 and is an approximately $300,000 increase from the Pittsfield Public Schools' FY26 budget of $86.9 million. 

The district's budget will fund 13 schools, as Morningside Community School will retire in the fall, and includes the middle school restructuring. 

Councilors also approved the use of $2 million in certified free cash to reduce the tax rate, and appropriated $450,551 for parking-related expenditures. 

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