During the Pittsfield School Committee meeting on Wednesday, March 13th, Superintendent Joseph Curtis and Assistant Superintendent Kristen Benke presented an overview of the Public Schools budget for fiscal year 2025 to the committee. The new fiscal year begins on July 1st, but Curtis expressed concerns over next year’s numbers.
Speaking to the Committee, Superintendent Curtis shared “Presenting a more condensed version but with the same numbers, you’ll see this evening to our school and district leaders, and to be in front of them as their leader, the signs and their facial expressions of worry and concern were certainly real…You will see a number of teacher reductions. You will see that the number of teacher reductions proposed, and a dollar figure attached, you might say, well, where are those reductions with schools? The reaction will be all schools.”
The budget includes the cutting of close to 80 positions including 27 classroom, special education and specialist teachers, eight teachers of deportment, four academic interventionists, and 26 paraprofessionals across all schools. Other plan cuts include three deans of students, seven instruction and accountability coordinators, and one curriculum department member.
Curtis also notes that there are some budget requests including early childhood coordinator, Pittsfield High School dean of students and school adjustment counselors among others. The total of all budget reductions and requests equates to an excess of $3.6 million. Although Curtis did not provide specifics on the proposed cuts. He states that more will be revealed at the March 27th meeting. He added, “what we need will not and cannot always line up with what we are able to provide….And there’s certainly no way that this will be a moment that anyone appreciates.”
Near the end of his presentation. Curtis outlined the additional step that would be necessary if further cuts were required.
“So we do feel compelled to say that if we do need to make additional cuts, we feel strongly there’s really only one place to go and that is to close an elementary school…As we talk about creating new attendance districts and doing that thoughtfully and planfully, over a number of years, maybe coinciding with the opening of a new building, that is a very different scenario as the whole city would experience a redistricting altogether would be all in this together with lots of communication leading up. That’s a very different scenario than closing a building with basically two months to communicate that…That will, there’s no way to do that well. There’s no way to do that with an inclusive environment, hearing everyone and their opinions. It’ a decision once made that’s the decision and we know that, and we have to accept that it will not be done with ease or well or responsibly.”
There will be a public hearing on the budget on March 20th at 6 p.m. at City Hall. And the following week on the 27th, there will be a budget workshop held at 5:30 p.m.
