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PITTSFIELD â The School Committee has voted in favor of opening a stand-alone virtual school with capacity for over 300 students next school year, but, because of budgetary considerations, it offered only a one-year commitment to the program. The idea of offering an all-online school program in Pittsfield dates to last summer, when districts across the state developed virtual school options for students during the coronavirus pandemic. Pittsfield Public Schools launched the all-online Pittsfield Public Virtual Academy, which accepted students in kindergarten through 12th grade, with a focus on medically vulnerable children, led by Principal Carl Tillona. The offering was popular, according to feedback from a group of parents whose children were enrolled in the program, School Committee member William Cameron said at a recent public meeting, and they asked school leaders to retain such a pandemic-era offering. ....
And Monday is the last day that Pittsfield residents can toss their hat in the ring. It marks the first time a School Committee vacancy will be filled under the terms of the city charter voters adopted in 2013. The process launched after NAACP Berkshire branch President Dennis Powell publicly resigned last month in protest of the majority of the committeeâs pick for superintendent, Joseph Curtis. Under the charter, School Committee vacancies are filled at a joint meeting of the City Council and the remaining members of the School Committee. The joint session has to happen âwithin 30 days following the date of the vacancy.â ....
PITTSFIELD â A new diversity, equity and inclusion officer. Sustainable funding for an early childhood education program. The expansion of prekindergarten for every elementary school. Those are among the highlights of a $67.9 million budget approved Wednesday by the Pittsfield School Committee for the coming fiscal year. The spending figure requires City Council approval during the city budget process next month, and it reflects an increase of about $3.4 million over the current year â a rise of about 4.4 percent. The district is banking on an increase in state education funding of at least $1.17 million, which is likely to increase after lawmakers on Beacon Hill finalize a statewide spending plan while advocates press officials to stick to funding levels promised in the Student Opportunity Act. ....