Pittsfield City Council Weighs in on 'Crisis' in Public SchoolsBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
08:59PM / Monday, December 23, 2024 | |
 Ward 7 Councilor Rhonda Serre, the principal author of the motion of support an independent investigation of Pittsfield High, addresses Monday's special council meeting.
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A half-dozen people addressed the City Council from the floor of Monday's meeting, including Valerie Anderson, right.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After expressing anger and outrage and making numerous calls for accountability and transparency, the 11 members of the City Council on Monday voted to support the School Committee in seeking an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct by staff members at Pittsfield High School that have come to light in recent weeks.
At the close of a month that has seen three PHS administrators put on administrative leave, including one who was arrested on drug trafficking charges, the revelation that the district is facing a civil lawsuit over inappropriate conduct by a former teacher and that a staff member who left earlier in the year is also under investigation at his current workplace, the majority of the council felt compelled to speak up about the situation.
"While the City Council does not have jurisdiction over the schools … we have a duty to raise our voices and amplify your concerns and ensure this crisis is met with the urgency it demands," Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey said.
About two dozen community members attended the special meeting of the council, which had a single agenda item.
Four of the councilors precipitated the meeting with a motion that the council join the School Committee in its search for an investigation and that the council, "be included in the delivery of any disclosures, interim reports or findings submitted to the city."
Last week, the School Committee decided to launch that investigation. On Monday, City Council President Peter White said the School Committee has a meeting scheduled for Dec. 30 to authorize its chair to enter negotiations with the Springfield law firm of Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas to conduct that probe.
Ward 7 Councilor Rhonda Serre, the principal author of the motion of support, was one of several members who noted that the investigation process will take time, and she, like Kavey, acknowledged that the council has no power over the public schools beyond its approval of the annual district budget.
"Even though the City Council really does have no authority in this area whatsoever, I think it's important for the City Council to publicly state we stand by the other elected officials in the city, and we're all going to face this problem head on," Serre said. "There won't be any scapegoating. There won't be any finger pointing. As the mayor said from the moment this came up, this is all going to be done in broad daylight.
"It's human nature to respond by demanding immediate change, but that's the anger response. No matter how justified our anger is, it is not what it takes to build a healthy Pittsfield High School community. We need to know the facts, and that's exactly what this petition will do."
Serre emphasized that she, too, acknowledges that changes are needed. But figuring out what went wrong is the first step to putting things right.
"I don't think any elected official would stand in front of you and say, 'This is OK,' " Serre said, addressing the constituents in the meeting room. "There will be changes down the road.
"But I think a fair, independent and open investigation, as the School Committee and mayor have already initiated, is the only way for this to move forward and make sure everybody has a chance."
Nine out of the 11 councilors Monday took advantage of their chance to speak to the motion on the table.
Council Vice President Earl Persip expressed frustration that the City Council has, in the past, told the School Committee that Pittsfield High has a culture problem but the problem persists.
"We are angry," Persip said. "It's OK to say you're angry. That doesn't change what we all want: the right outcome.
"The School Committee has not listened to us when we talk about the culture problem, and it's upsetting to me that this is ignored. It's your job to oversee the administration and make sure that they're doing what they need to be doing. That's why you were elected."
Persip echoed Serre's point in regard to the motion in question, saying, "We can't heal until we know what happened."
But he also went into specifics, questioning the hiring process that put some of the district's personnel in place.
"What are the hiring practices?" Persip asked. "We have a dean of students on a dance waiver? Come on. What are we doing? Enough is enough. I'll be the bad guy. I don't care. What are we doing?
"I'm hearing other things about other administrators in that building who are just getting licenses for higher education, not just elementary ed. I'm hearing the vice principal didn't have the right license. I don't know. But part of this investigation needs to be: who are we hiring and what leadership roles are they in?"
At the start of the meeting, White cautioned all in attendance that while Massachusetts law provides broad protections for comments in public meetings, "Any discussion about individuals by name or title carries risk and should be avoided.
"For open mic … speakers are not immunized against claims of defamation from individuals injured by those comments."
Most of the seven people who addressed the council during the open microphone portion of the meeting kept their comments general while conveying dismay about the allegations that have dominated public discourse in the city and attracted media attention from television stations in Albany, N.Y.
One who did not, Debra Simonetta, told the council members they were "all guilty of all this," because the City Council has oversight of the school district's budget. Simonetta went on to imply the administrator facing federal charges was hired not for his qualifications but because of his race, saying, "I guess his only qualification is he looks like Earl Persip."
At that point, Councilor at Large Kathleen Amuso interrupted Simonetta with a point of order, saying her comments were "unacceptable."
White attempted to remind Amuso that state law doesn't allow the council to censor public comments, banged his gavel as people started talking over one another and eventually called a five-minute recess after Simonetta yelled an obscenity from the podium.
At the other end of the spectrum, the open mic period, 2020 PHS graduate Elliott Loverin, who went on to earn a degree from Duke University, told the City Council that in his time at Pittsfield High, he was "victim blamed" and "intimidated" by an administrator at the school.
"The impact on my mental health was undeniable," Loverin said. "When COVID-19 ended my senior year early, I mostly felt relief that I would never need to spend another day at Pittsfield High School."
Another Pittsfield High alum, Brian Desrosiers, told the council that he is now in graduate school and is excited when he has a chance to return to his hometown.
"I would like to settle down here one day and start a family, but I would like to say the most recent allegations coming out of Pittsfield High School are disturbing to say the least," Desrosiers said.
City Council President Peter White calls for a five-minute recess after an outburst during the public comment portion of Monday's meeting.
Later, Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said the former students' remarks brought tears to her eyes and that she, as the parent of pre-school children, also has concern about putting her children in the city's school system.
One speaker who attended a different city secondary school offered another perspective.
She urged all elected officials, including the City Council and Mayor Peter Marchetti, who attended Monday's meeting, to push local legislators to pass a suite of reforms known as the Prevention Package which the advocacy group Enough Abuse says will help prevent child abuse in schools, youth organizations and communities.
Although the council did not take any action beyond the scope of the motion on the agenda, Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren later referenced DeGiorgis' remarks as part of lengthy comments about the kinds of things he would like to see the independent investigator look into.
As White noted in opening the meeting, the scope of the investigation will be determined by the School Committee, the elected body that oversees the city's public schools.
Serre said that part of the reason for calling a special meeting was to give voice to community members' frustration.
"The reason we did this wasn't just to stand by the School Committee, but to make sure the public had more opportunity to speak," Serre said. "I think the mayor and the School Committee have both been very open in this whole process. But this is just one more opportunity to get everybody together.
"This petition came out of a place of passion — not policy and, certainly, not politics. We're hurting."
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