Last week I submitted a Letter to the Editor regarding the City Council Proposal to amend the City Charter to make the Mayor automatically chair of the Pittsfield School Committee. Another Letter to the Editor written by Councilor at Large Earl Persip appeared in the paper earlier this week. Both letters can be viewed below.

Be on the lookout for another blog post detailing more about this proposal, and my questions/concerns about everything going on.

Letter: Pittsfield city charter changes should go before voters

Aug 22, 2025

To the editor: Before I spoke at the last City Council meeting against the proposed amendment to the city charter making the mayor chair of the Pittsfield School Committee, Councilor Kenneth Warren made a comment to me that there was not much of a point in speaking against the proposal as it would be going to the voters. (“Longer terms for city councilors and School Committee members could be on the November ballot, pending state approval,” Eagle, Aug. 15.)

Undeterred, I still decided to speak out against it.

Later on during the meeting, I became confused and then appalled when Councilor Warren made an amendment so that this change would not go to the voters. Why the sudden shift between before I spoke during public comment and the discussion on the amendment?

In a now deleted Facebook comment thread, another city councilor stated that this amendment doesn’t need to go to the voters as he believes the council knows what is best for the city, and that this would address what the council sees as issues with working with the School Committee.

I strongly disagree with this sentiment. The voters of this city voted back in 2013 to adopt the current version of the charter, and they should be the ones who decide what parts get changed and which parts remain. This is the voter’s charter, not the City Council’s to play around with.

The law even agrees. The statute the council is using to make this amendment says: “Whenever an order proposing a charter amendment to the voters is approved by the mayor and city council … a copy of the proposed amendment shall be immediately submitted to the attorney general…” So then, why does the City Council believe it has a mandate, let alone the authority, to make changes to the city charter without voter approval?

While I believe this proposal is misguided and very problematic, if the voters want to make the mayor chair of the Pittsfield School Committee, then they can vote to support the amendment at the ballot box. Not letting the voters decide on such an important matter would be a disservice to the city’s voters.

The more I hear about the council’s rationale for not sending this amendment to the voters, the more I fear that this is a hostile power grab by city leaders to micromanage the school department budget and its operations, potentially leading to devastating budget cuts. This power grab can and should be stopped at the ballot box.

William Garrity, Pittsfield
The writer is a Pittsfield School Committee member.

Letter: A response to letter-writer’s concern on charter change proposal

Aug 26, 2025

To the editor: The Aug. 22 letter “Pittsfield city charter changes should go before voters” misrepresented both the process and the purpose of the proposed charter amendment.

This is not a power grab. It is about accountability. The mayor is already responsible for presenting and balancing the city’s overall budget, which includes the schools. Having the mayor serve as chair of the School Committee aligns that responsibility with clear leadership. Several Massachusetts cities already follow this structure.

The City Council is acting fully within its legal authority. Massachusetts law allows charter changes either through a commission process that goes to the ballot or through a council-approved petition sent to the Legislature. Both are legitimate. We are using the process the law provides.

Voters are not being cut out. Any charter change must go to the Legislature and then back to the city for acceptance. There are multiple levels of oversight built in.

What cannot be ignored is the past year. The Pittsfield High School investigation exposed a clear lack of accountability from the School Committee when serious problems surfaced. Parents, students and taxpayers expected openness. Instead, they saw delays, secrecy and excuses. The state itself ordered portions of the report released after ruling the district failed to justify withholding it. That is not what voters expect from their elected representatives.

This proposal to make the mayor the School Committee chair responds to those concerns. Transparency, collaboration and financial oversight have been missing. When the School Committee is not aligned with city government, it creates confusion and mistrust. Giving the mayor a defined role as chair creates accountability at the top, which benefits students, teachers and taxpayers.

The council is doing its job: debating policy, weighing options and making decisions in the best interest of the city.

Earl G. Persip III, Pittsfield
The writer is an at-large councilor and vice president of the Pittsfield City Council.