The ribbon was cut by Ethan Coe, Lord Arhinful, Kailey Sultaire, Jaelyn Sistrunk, Alexandria Carmon, Jayden Cross, Sara Hernandez, Trisha Victor, Mitchell Strack, and Shannon Dean.
Treasurer Deborah Goldberg Poses for a photo with the students cutting the ribbon.
Mayor Linda Tyer and Treasurer Deborah Goldberg hold the ribbon for the students to cut.
Principal Matthew Bishop welcomed the guests to the new school.
That Taconic Chorus kicked the event off.
Superintendent Jason McCandless.
School Building Needs Commission Chairwoman Kathleen Amuso.
Student Kailey Sultaire noted that the technology, the creation of pods and collaborative learning spaces, and a green energy efficient building has not gone unnoticed from the students. She thanked the officials for having trust in the students.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Taconic senior Alexandria Carmon went to numerous vocational competitions against schools throughout the state.
And it made her jealous.
The health technologies program at Taconic had great teachers. It was a great program. But the other schools had better technology. They had a better environment to practice their trades. And Taconic High School, well, was literally falling down on the student's heads at times.
But that's not the case anymore.
On Friday, students, faculty, and city and state officials dedicated and cut the ribbon on the new $120.8 million Taconic High School, providing better technology and environment for students like Carmon need for years to come.
"My classmates and I have had the opportunity to meet, interact with, and compete against vocational students from across the state. And I was always very jealous of those schools because they had so much more than we did. I truly thank you guys for giving us the tools they had," Carmon said.
"We always had amazing, highly skilled teachers in every shop at THS. We now have the advanced technology and equipment to prepare us for those competitions. The resources we have been blessed with will allow us to achieve so much more."
The project has been more than a decade in the making, starting in 2005 when an accreditation report cited the school as having deficiencies. City officials reactivated the School Building Needs Commission to look at all of the buildings and, eventually, the focus was placed on building a new Taconic.
"The decision was to invest in the greatest number of students and make the biggest impact," said state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, who was just a new city councilor at the time.
Over the following 10 years the group meeting for hours and hours and petitioned the Massachusetts School Building Authority for funding. The faces in city government changed quite a bit during that time, but the project remained on the front burner.
In 2015, the city received notification that the MSBA was willing to pay up to $74 million - and is ultimately paying about $72 million because the project is trending under budget - to help build the school and the City Council followed up with unanimously voting in favor of paying the rest. The state is paying 80 percent of the eligible costs with the city picking up the rest.
And then it was construction. In 2016, officials broke ground on the building and workers took what was sports fields and a rock ledge and built a 246,520 square feet building to accommodate 920 students.
"It is the realization of 10 plus years of work over three mayoral administrations. We certainly owe a debt of gratitude to the people who got us here today. But this school is also a symbol, a symbol of Pittsfield's faith in the young people," School Committee Chairwoman Katherine Yon said.
For the last two years under the direction of the owner's project manager Skanska USA, the architects Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc., and Gilbane Construction as the construction manager, hundreds of contractors were on site just about every day bringing the vision to life.
"They weren't just a project manager, an architect, or construction manager for the high school. They're people who have given their hearts and souls to this project and they embraced our community, they gave back to our community, and, most importantly, they ingrained themselves with the staff and students at Taconic High School and continue to do so," said School Building Needs Commission Co-chair Kathleen Amuso, who has been part of the project since the very first day.
In September the first class walked through the doors. But, they walked into much more than a building. They walked into what officials say is an investment in the city's future.
The architects, owner's project manager, and construction management team with MSBA Deputy Executive Director Jack McCarthy.
"This state of the art school building is a symbol of a city that is contentually building its future. Taconic High School is the place where our teachers have access to cutting-edge educational resources to help prepare the next generation for citizenship, for exploration, and for prosperity," Mayor Linda Tyer said.
Superintendent Jason McCandless said the building the students learn in sends a clear message. He said school buildings make an impact on the way the students see themselves in the world.
As the new Taconic opened up, he constantly heard the students saying, "I can't believe they did this for us."
"Together we've built a school that tells our young people to grow and think deeply and independently, to be confident and to believe in themselves as much as this community clearly believes in them. The city of Pittsfield and the commonwealth of Massachusetts today celebrates putting our money where our mouth is," McCandless said.
State Sen. Adam Hinds used to work with the middle and high school population, particularly with at-risk youth. His experience with that age bracket is that it is vitally important to show them that the communities cares.
"I can't overstate the value of demonstrating at this moment, when somebody is walking into junior high and high school, saying you matter. It is a tough moment at that age, you are pushing away from your parents, you are uncertain about yourself at the moment, and to say I matter, this community cares about me, I have a future that I want. That's what this school says. You get that feeling immediately when you walk in here," Hinds said.
The city and the state put in millions of dollars and revamped its programming at the school for the students. And now Yon believes the students have an obligation to the city. She said while it is a beautiful building, what makes it special is the what happens inside of it every day.
"We put our faith in you, so now you must deliver. We want you to be inspired by this beautiful building with unique learning spaces. We want you to set your goals high," Yon said, addressing the students.
"Make this building come alive with the hopes, the dreams, and the accomplishments of you, the student body, the backbone, the heart, and the soul of Taconic High School."
And Carmon said that is exactly what the current and future Taconic Braves will do.
"I assure you, we will use our skills to better this community," Carmon said.
State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg said those learned skills at the new Taconic is what is going to lead to greater prosperity not just for the students but for the entire state.
"Our kids here deserve this school," Goldberg said. "In Massachusetts, our brains are our resource, our capability. The arts, STEM, everything that we have that contributes to our economy comes from learning. That is the key path to success, to have financial stability, to have opportunity in this state."
The event also featured remarks from the student representative on the School Building Needs Commission Kailey Sultaire, Deputy Chief Executive Director from the MSBA Jack McCarthy, and a welcome from Principal Matthew Bishop.
The Taconic Chorus kicked off the event with the Star Spangled Banner and a rendition of Queen's Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
Following the ceremony, the crowd, featuring a number of invited guests, went outside to cut the ribbon on the new school. But unlike most ribbon cuttings where the elected officials crowd around, a group of 10 students, representing the students, did the honors. After all, it wasn't built for the elected officials, it was built for the students.
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Belchertown Stops Pittsfield Post 68
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Belchertown Post 239’s Cooper Beckwith set the tone when he crushed the game’s first pitch to left-center field for a double.
The visitors went on to pound out 14 more hits in a 9-1 win over Pittsfield Post 68 in American Legion Baseball action at Buddy Pellerin Field on Monday night.
Beckwith went 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored twice, and Chase Earle went five innings on the mound without allowing an earned run as Post 239 improved to 15-0 this summer and completed a regular-season sweep of Post 68 (12-4).
“He’s a good pitcher,” Post 68 coach Rick Amuso said. “Good velo[city], kept the ball down. We didn’t respond.”
Pittsfield did manage to scratch out a run in the bottom of the fourth inning, when it already trailed, 7-0.
Nick Brindle reached on an error to start the inning. He moved up on a single by Jack Reed (2-for-2) and scored on a single to left by Cam Zerbato.
That was half the hits allowed by Earle, who struck out three before giving the ball to Alex West, who gave up a leadoff walk in the sixth and retired the next six batters he faced.
Water runoff reaching the drainage outlet behind the property is flooding it, unable to reach an intermittent stream meant to carry that runoff. click for more
The $25,000 raised will directly assist the Berkshire Humane Society in funding its various programs aimed at improving the lives of animals in need throughout the Berkshire County area. click for more
The short film follows Tom Levardi, who has been a supporter of the hiking community over the last 45 years by allowing Appalachian Trail hikers to camp in his back yard.
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On Thursday, the commission issued 36 conditions for the city project that include a new boardwalk, access stairs, paring improvements, seasonal docks, and a new swimming beach on the park’s two properties at 1447 North St. and 40 Hancock Rd. click for more
Mike Ressler was unhittable on the mound, and the Pittsfield Little League All-Stars completed a convincing run through the Don Gleason District 1 Tournament with a 19-0 win over Dalton-Hinsdale on Thursday. click for more