PITTSFIELD — Amid concerns that a pause or delay in restructuring its middle schools would stall momentum and put needed improvements at risk, the School Committee voted Wednesday to move forward on the plan for the 2026-27 school year.

The 6-1 vote means plans for a fall 2026 rollout will continue moving forward. Mayor Peter Marchetti was the sole vote of opposition — not over the proposal, but over concerns the district won’t be ready to roll it out successfully.

The plan will establish a fifth and sixth grade lower middle school at Herberg and a seventh and eighth grade upper middle school at Reid.

The vote came after a discussion of concerns about readiness for the transition, from transportation and staffing to curriculum and building community among students and faculty.

Mayor Peter Marchetti explains his position as the only "no" vote on moving forward with the plan to restructure the city’s middle schools for the 2026-27 school year at Wednesday’s School Committee meeting.

Marchetti, concerned that several questions about the plan remain unanswered or fuzzy, had proposed delaying a go/no-go vote — first until March, and then, at Daniel Elias’ suggestion, until February. He said he was confident that those issues, including staffing, transportation and negotiations with the district’s labor unions chief among them, could be addressed.

But only Marchetti and Elias supported that amendment, and the overall motion to move forward passed.

Marchetti made clear that he supports the plan, and the underlying reasons for it. But members including committee Chair William Cameron, Sara Hathaway and Donna Belair said waiting might be do more harm than good. And member William Garrity said he would “vote his conscience” and support the plan.

Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips speaks during Wednesday. She acknowledged that change can be scary, but also said she needed a “green light” to continue the planning process.

“I do believe we can get into the buildings in the fall and have a successful year,” interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips said.

She acknowledged that change can be scary, but also said she needed a “green light” to continue the planning process.

Cameron expressed concern that putting the plan on hold for a year might effectively put it on the shelf. Belair said waiting until February or March would cause even more anxiety for parents like her who have students in multiple grade levels. And Hathaway expressed confidence that Phillips and the administration would make the transition work, and that fifth graders moving up to middle school next year would make the adjustment.

Making the change now, Phillips said, would allow the district to start the work of making classroom assignments more equitable, tailor learning interventions for students in need, and assuring a balance of less-experienced and more-experienced teachers.

“That’s the opportunity for next fall that doesn’t have to wait,” she said.

During its last meeting of 2025, the Pittsfield School Committee on Wednesday passed a motion to move ahead with a plan to restructure the city’s middle schools for the 2026-27 school year.

Several speakers addressed the vote as the meeting began. David Weiner, a member of the middle school restructuring committee, urged the committee to move forward, while Danielle Giulian, Maureen Garner, Tiffany Bassi and Kate Chennells all called for delaying a year and spending more time on honing the details.

The School Committee had previously voted to move forward with the restructuring, in response to a growing number of families pursuing school choice, charter school and parochial school options in or around the middle school years. Families have expressed concerns about the lack of academic challenges for students and reports of problem behaviors in the two schools.

The plan, reached by a committee of educators and parents, envisions curriculum and delivery changes to improve the middle school experience, provide equal opportunities for all students and offer electives and enrichment that would help win back families who have pursued choice or other options.

The plan envisions a fifth and sixth grade lower middle school that helps students gradually make the transition from elementary to middle school, and a seventh and eighth grade upper middle school that readies students for the increased expectations and responsibilities of high school and provides electives aligned with the college prep and career offerings at PHS and Taconic. At all levels, the intent is to provide more supports for students who need it, more advanced studies for kids desiring challenges, and a greater range of electives that match student interests.

A tired audience waits to hear the outcome of the Pittsfield School Committee’s vote on its plan to restructure the city’s middle schools for the 2026-27 school year.

The change will require a third tier of bus service, dedicated solely to the middle school grades. For many years, the city has needed only two tiers of bus service — one for elementary students and one for middle and high school students. But the district’s transportation team determined a two-tiered approach won’t work with the new citywide model.

In her presentation, Phillips unveiled a draft schedule that would retain the start of high school at 7:15 a.m., move the start of middle school to 8:05 a.m. from 7:20 a.m., and push elementary school start time to 9 a.m. from 8:40 a.m. The elementary school day wouldn’t end until 3:40 p.m.

That late end time concerned some members. But Marchetti raised a suggestion he had discussed with United Educators of Pittsfield President Jeanne Lemmond: flipping the middle school and elementary school start times. Phillips said she’d consider that option and have the district transportation team work out a potential schedule.