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School Committee candidates drop their names in to the tumbler for the ballot drawing in City Hall.
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Pittsfield Draws Ballot Positions for Nov. 4 Election

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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City Clerk Michele Benjamin pulls names for ballot positions last week with Assistant Clerk Joshua Munn and Head Clerk Sandra Knight. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In preparation for the Nov. 4 municipal election, candidates for contested seats drew their ballot positions. 

City Clerk Michele Benjamin addressed a small crowd in council chambers on Thursday, first congratulating all candidates for their nominations and placement on the ballot. 

Positions were drawn for at-large, Ward 2, Ward 5, Ward 6, Ward 7, and School Committee. At-large candidates Lawrence Klein, Earl Persip III, and Sara Hathaway attended.  

At-large ballot positions: 

Karen Kalinowsky
Lawrence Klein 
Kathleen Amuso 
Earl Persip III 
Peter White 
Alisa Costa 
Sara Hathaway

The four candidates with the top votes will be selected as councilors. 

For Ward 2, Cameron Cunningham attended and drew second position behind Corey Walker.  

Both Patrick Kavey and his challenger, Michael Grady attended the drawing. Kavey drew first position.  Ward 6 candidate Walter Powell attended and drew first position over incumbent Dina Lampiasi. 

For Ward 7, Katherine Moody attended and drew second position, with Anthony Maffuccio appearing first. 



Nine candidates are running for a School Committee seat and Vicky Smith, Katherine Yon, and a representative of Jacob Klein attended. 

Lawrence Klein, at-large candidate, was able to put his son's name into the drawing wheel.  

He explained that his son, Jacob Klein, is a senior at Pittsfield High School, freshly 18, and wanted to give back to the community and run for local politics alongside his father. This is why Klein chose to run for an at-large seat. 

"I say whether I win the position or not, I've won because I've done this great, fantastic thing with my son," he said. 

"And think about this. How many people can say that in their first election that they got to vote in, they got to vote for themselves and their father or their mother?"

School Committee ballot positions: 

Ciara Batory 
Sarah Muil 
Daniel Elias 
Katherine Yon 
Jacob Klein 
Geoffrey Buerger 
Heather McNiece 
Vicky Smith 
Carolyn Barry 


Tags: ballot,   election 2025,   municipal election,   

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Wahconah Students Join Statewide 'SOS' Call for Rural School Funding

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

DALTON, Mass. — Students at Wahconah Regional High School are urging the state to fully fund Rural School Aid that supports essential services that shape their future.
 
Rural districts across the state participated in Rural and Declining Enrollment Schools Week of Action to insist Beacon Hill fully fund rural aid at $60 million. 
 
Schools across Massachusetts sent their pleas for aid to lawmakers through letter-writing campaigns, sign-making, and coordinated gatherings where students and educators formed the letters "SOS."

Wahconah students did something different — they created an educational video detailing the need for increased funding for rural schools with the school's music teacher Brian Rabuse, who edited the video, Assistant Superintendent Aaron Robb said. 

The advocacy efforts move the issue from spreadsheets to show the human cost of a funding formula previously described as "remarkably wrong." 
 
During an interview with iBerkshires, students expressed how districts without rural aid would have to make reductions in world language programing, mental health support, extracurricular opportunities, and other areas they find essential. 
 
"Our students deserve the same quality of education as any child in Massachusetts, regardless of their ZIP code," Superintendent Mike Henault said in apress release.
 
"The week of action is an opportunity for our communities to come together and make it clear to Beacon Hill that the status quo is no longer acceptable." 
 
Rural schools attempt to create the same quality education as urban and suburban areas while balancing high fixed costs of transportation and operations of geographically large, low-population districts.
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