Copyright berkshireeagle
PITTSFIELD — A school district is more than data points, test scores and budgets. It’s people doing vitally important work for young people with futures full of potential. But what happens when the teachers have to be replaced and positions sit vacant? What happens when students and families opt out for school choice, charter school or parochial school? Retention — keeping trained, certified teachers in the workplace, and students in the city’s 14 schools — was the issue most-discussed by the nine Pittsfield School Committee candidates who spoke with The Eagle over the past several days. It was also a prominent topic during a debate aired on PCTV. Tuesday's election will replace at least five of the committee’s seven members, as longtime Vice Chair Daniel Elias is the only candidate for reelection and Mayor Peter Marchetti will remain by virtue of his office. Chair William Cameron and members Diana Belair, Sara Hathaway, Dominick Sacco and William Garrity all chose not to seek reelection. Former School Committee Chair Katherine Yon, a retired teacher, is seeking to return to the panel, as is Vicky Smith, a teacher, education consultant and former administrator. Sarah Muil, the early childhood education program director at Austin Riggs, was formerly education director at Head Start. Geoffrey Buerger, a longtime teacher and administrator with public and private school experience in the U.S. and Canada, is a substitute teacher at Taconic and previously subbed at PHS and Herberg Middle School. Heather McNeice, a teacher at Lenox Memorial High School, taught business classes and a first-year student success program at Taconic High School. Jacob Klein is a senior at Pittsfield High School. Ciara Batory, who works at General Dynamics, is a Pittsfield school parent who challenged the school system to make its report on alleged faculty misbehavior at Pittsfield High School public. Carolyn Barry is a lifelong resident of Pittsfield who attended city schools and worked in media sales at several county publications. Most of the new candidates have education backgrounds. Many are longtime or lifelong city residents. All want to restore a reputation damaged by the events of the 2024-25 school year, including the drowning death of a middle school student during a summer program, the arrest of a Pittsfield High School dean of students and allegations of PHS faculty misconduct, which were largely found to be unsubstantiated. Many are demanding greater transparency on how the district operates and its $86.9 million budget is spent. As one of several former Pittsfield teachers who took jobs at Lenox, McNeice knows the dynamics of why students and teachers leave the city schools. “PHS has always had a robust AP program,” McNeice said, agreeing it’s “a driving force in why kids come back” from choice, charter or parochial options. “But the problem with them leaving in middle school and coming back in high school is that the families don't continuously invest in the school system." “We're losing a lot of students to neighboring districts, and we're losing a lot of teachers to neighboring districts," she said. "We really need to get to the heart of why and what we can do differently so that we can keep them. They are our most valuable resources.” Elias, a 28-year veteran of the committee, says many parents base school choice decisions on anecdotal information without giving the middle schools a chance. He supports the current middle school restructuring project, saying the districts need to “do something drastic” to stem the tide. “Right now, no matter what you do, you're just caught in word of mouth, and sometimes it’s a bad or false perception, but it's set in stone,” Elias said. “Families at the middle school level are not even giving us a chance. Day 1, they're just gone.” “But by saying that, I mean that this has to be done correctly, and it has to be done in a time frame that works," he said. "It can't be rushed.” In addition to improving academic performance, the middle school proposal is meant to address the outflow of school choice students and encourage equity by making both schools citywide rather than based on geographic districts. Last year, 657 students left the city for school every day via school choice, and a net of $4.23 million in Chapter 70 funding followed those students. Of that amount, $1.2 million in state aid originally intended for Pittsfield followed 239 students to Lenox in 2024-25. That does not include the 152 city students who attended Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter Public School in Adams, or students attending the county’s three parochial schools: St. Mary’s in Lee, St. Agnes in Dalton and St. Stanislaus Kostka in Adams. Elias also sits on the committee’s negotiations subcommittee, and says the past few contracts have made the district’s pay scale more competitive with its neighbors. According to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the city schools have an 82 percent teacher retention rate as of April 2025 — the third-lowest rate among K-12 districts in the county, behind North Adams and Hoosac Valley. The district had to scramble to fill positions as school began, and is still hiring for positions that have been staffed by substitute teachers since September. Buerger, whose experience includes teaching and administrative roles at prep and public schools in the U.S. and Canada, says for too long, the district has been a “bad employer” in how it attempted to retain or dismiss faculty. He said he’s aware of one staff member who received their pink slip in front of students last spring, and another who showed up for work this fall to find they were no longer employed. “Those practices need to be dramatically overhauled, and they may be the result of simply being understaffed, but they may also be hardwired because they have been past practice,” Buerger said. He also wants to see an overhaul of attendance and social promotion practices, saying both are harming the district. Yon, a former Pittsfield High School teacher, decided to run after PHS was rocked by the arrest on drug trafficking charges of former dean of students Lavante Wiggins and allegations of misconduct against several staff, most of which were later deemed unsubstantiated by an independent investigation. “I couldn't stand by and do nothing,” she said. Yon believes more of a human touch is needed to communicate with faculty and staff and make them feel heard and supported. She’s also in favor of strengthening the district’s mentoring program for new teachers and reaching out to retired teachers to fill vacancies. “We all know that probably classroom management is a huge issue for these young teachers,” Yon said. “If you can do it, make personal relationships. Don't just pass as out bulletin ... it just makes such a difference.” Barry feels the same way. "Communicate with them: 'What's going on? Why are you leaving?'" she said. "[McNeice] is one example of losing a good teacher. And I think it's like I told [Marchetti], I think that there are ways. I think you've got a good core there. I think there's not a lot of tweaking that needs to be done there. And I think a lot of it starts with the discipline of the students." Batory, during a debate aired on PCTV, said transparency from the administration and the School Committee, in word and in deed, is needed to build trust. While she considered school choice for her own children, she also told her fellow candidates that she saw hope for the future among them. “We need to prove to the parents of Pittsfield we are going to change and it’s going to be better,” she said. Muil, whose early childhood education career also includes work at Williams College and the Catholic Youth Center, was a member of the Middle School Restructuring Committee, whose work is intended to slow the outflow of school choice from those grade levels in addition to shoring up academics. She also sees the importance of transparency, for faculty, families and taxpayers. “Having that oversight of all the school districts, you're still trusting those leaders that you've put in place to make decisions and to be there to support their staff, but you also have to make sure that you know they are accomplishing those things, and if they're not, how do you help navigate that with them?” Muil said. “And then another piece of that transparency ... is the budget. We need to know how this money is being spent, where it's being spent. Is it being spent wisely?” When it comes to transparency, Smith would like to see policy changed so School Committee members can visit schools more freely. The current policy requires an invitation from the superintendent or the building principal, and Smith says she got in trouble during her previous term over that policy. “I got that a million times: 'You're not here to micromanage.' " I said, ‘No, but we're another pair of eyes and ears and hearts to see what's going on in the schools,’” Smith said. “Take it back to the superintendent and say, ‘Hey, did you know this was going on and how was it being addressed?’” Klein said he’s basing his campaign on optimism — feeling blessed that he has been able to return to school following his recovery from a traumatic brain injury, and wanting to give back. “As a student, I see a lot of other students disengaged with learning. And I want to find out, why are these students disengaged, and what tools can we give the teachers to help encourage these students to want to learn more? Because if students have a desire to learn, they're more likely to behave, go to class, do their work, and have meaningful discussions,” he said. As for his age, Klein said everyone starts somewhere. The other [candidates] have been through these things because they were given opportunities. How am I supposed to grow if I'm not given any opportunities? This is what education is about. … And I'm 18, and this would be an opportunity for me to learn and grow. I mean, no one is where they are today without the experiences they've lived.” The election comes as the district works to rebuild its reputation and morale, shore up staffing gaps, correct shortcomings in its special education program, reverse a flood of school choice departures and continue addressing long-standing inequities. An interim superintendent, Latifah Phillips, was hired in June and has strongly indicated she’d like to stay on permanently. The interim position was advertised with the provision that the successful applicant would not be considered for the full-time job. But the candidates are unanimous in wanting to give Phillips the opportunity chance to apply.
