Pittsfield Schools Officials See FY27 Budget for 13 Schools
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Right after the School Committee voted to close Morningside Community School, members saw how it will affect the fiscal year 2027 budget.
The $87,200,061 budget for FY27 remains, but funds that would have gone to Morningside are following students to four other schools.
"As we look at the high-level totals, you notice that the total budget amount is the same. We only have so many dollars to work with. Even though that doesn't change, the composition of spending changes," Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Bonnie Howland explained.
Mayor Peter Marchetti, chair of the School Committee, said this year's budget process was "extremely confusing," because of coming changes within the Pittsfield Public Schools, including the middle school restructuring.
The proposed FY27 budget for the School Department includes $68,886,061 in state Chapter 70 funding and $18 million from the city. A 13-school plan, excluding Morningside, saves in instruction, school services, and operations and maintenance, allowing those funds to be reinvested across the district.
Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee released a budget that brings an additional $858,660 to PPS. This includes a rate of $160 per pupil minimum school aid, and Fair Share Amendment earmarks secured by state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier and state Sen. Paul Mark.
Morningside's pupils will be reassigned to Allendale, Capeless, Egremont, and Williams elementary schools. For fiscal year 2027, the district had allocated about $5.2 million for Morningside.
Officials identified school's lack of classroom walls as the most significant obstacle, creating a difficult and noisy learning environment that is reflected in its accountability score.
The majority of the school's 70 staff members can be reassigned or apply for another position in the district. For FY27, the budget for 17 positions was reallocated: 10 teachers, three custodians, a principal, a school nurse, and two secretaries.
In the FY27 budget for 13 schools, instructional costs decrease to $62,696,626, down from $63,449,007 in FY26.
"Of course, any personnel savings are not surplus, so we have reallocated those savings, pushing resources to the new school communities," Howland explained.
"You'll see an increase in the line items for deans and assistant principals, family engagement, attendance coordinators, there will be one in each building that would receive the Morningside students, paraprofessionals, student adjustment counselors, English language teachers, of course, gasoline costs, and instructional supplies."
She noted that additional speech and language services will be required at the receiving schools, and the district will continue to review staffing levels as students get assigned to their new schools. The district is working on establishing attendance zones for the reassignments.
In other news, the city thinks it is a good idea to get in line for funding to repair Pittsfield High School.
In three consecutive days last week, the School Building Needs Commission, City Council, and School Committee authorized Phillips to submit a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for repairs to the almost century-old building.
Priority areas identified for an SOI to the MSBA Core Program will be for the replacement, renovation, or modernization of the heating system to increase energy conservation and decrease energy-related costs, and replacement or addition to obsolete buildings to provide a full range of programs consistent with state and local requirements.
This is what the school was found to be most eligible for. If invited into the program in December, a draft schedule places construction between 2031 and 2033.
Tags: fiscal 2026, Pittsfield Public Schools,
