Herberg School Closed Tuesday for Heating Issues

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Herberg Middle School will be closed on Tuesday because of heating and electrical issues. 

Heating problems caused an early dismissal on Monday. It was discovered that the boilers were not functioning properly early Monday and around 8 a.m., the school was notified of electrical and boiler issues that could not be rectified.
 
Students were dismissed at 11 a.m.
 
"At this time, we are planning to resume normal school operations tomorrow, Tuesday, January 14, 2025," Principal William Wood posted on social media around 10 a.m.
 
"We will provide further updates if anything changes."
 
That changed early Monday evening with Herberg families being informed of the continued closure. 
 
"As of now, the heating and electrical issues that disrupted the normal operations at Herberg today have not been resolved," Superintendent Joseph Curtis informed the school community. "Therefore, Herbert Middle School will remain closed on Tuesday, January 14, 2025."
 
Temperatures are expected to dip back down into the 20s on Tuesday.
 
The closure means that the school will be under the mandated 180 days of classroom time; Curtis said the missed day will be made up in June, meaning the last day of school for Herberg will be June 18. 
 
"We want to take a moment to express our gratitude to our city maintenance department for the hard work and dedication in addressing this issue as quickly as possible," the superintendent wrote. "We expect the matter to be resolved by tomorrow and will provide families with an update on the building status early Tuesday evening." 
 
Parents with questions or concerns were advised to contact the principal at wwood@pittsfield.net or contact the school's main office at 413-448-9640, Ext. 4001, during office hours.
 
Boiler problems are not unique to the district.
 
Just days before Pittsfield High School got a temporary boiler in October, it closed for two days because of dropping temperatures causing discomfort inside the building.
 
The school remains amid a heating system replacement, as the former boilers exceeded their useful life.
 
In June, the City Council authorized the borrowing of $3 million for new boilers at Pittsfield High School — a project that was originally going to be funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.
 
The nearly 100-year-old boilers are original to the building and have exceeded their useful life, officials say. They are converted locomotive engines that are extremely inefficient and expensive to maintain.
 
One boiler was non-operational and another was severely compromised.
 
At last week's School Building Needs Commission meeting, Building Maintenance Director Brian Filiault reported that new boilers will be installed later in the month.  
 
"On Monday, the 13th, we're going to fire the boilers up and do a little burn-off on them to get them started and on the 20th, we're going to actually put them into service if everything goes well on that," he said.
 
"As it stands right now, the job is beautiful. The quality, the workmanship, it's incredible what the school's got. Every bit of this project has been very smooth for the most part. It's a big undertaking but they're looking good and I think we're in good shape."
 
Editor's note: write-thru and updated at 5:05 p.m. on Jan. 13.

Tags: HVAC,   Pittsfield Public Schools,   

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Dalton Green Committee to Present Climate Action Plan Draft April 12

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Green Committee will present its draft of the Climate Action Plan on April 12 from noon to 2:30 p.m. 
 
For the past nine months, the committee has been working with the town's consultant, Blue Strike Environmental, in the development of this document. 
 
The goal of the climate action plan is to aid the town in achieving net zero by 2050 by seeking strategies to decrease the town's dependence on fossil fuels for homes, businesses, municipal facilities, and vehicles.
 
Committee members said the CAP presentation will kick off a vital discussion on climate change within town. 
 
"This is an ongoing process, with this presentation being the initiation of a townwide discussion of this very important topic," according to the committee. 
 
The event will include free pizza, a presentation on the CAP from Rich Swanson, Blue Strike Environmental's director of the climate and energy division environmental, and a 30-minute discussion and demonstration of organic waste composting by Antonio Pagliarulo, green committee member. 
 
It will highlight impactful actions for families and the community, discuss potential funding sources, and provide handouts, including a "Residents Guide For Climate Action." 
 
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