ONGOING SCHOOL SCANDAL: $155K TAB FOR NOTHING … THE SUITS’ ‘LONG GAME’ ISN’T WORKING … plus … CIALA BATORY FILES PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST WITH PSD’s HR CARPENTER; SHOT CLOCK HAS STARTED
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION MAY 23-5, 2025) — The Memorial Day weekend marks the traditional beginning of The Season in the Berkshires. It retires on the Tuesday after Labor Day. In between, the barbarians from the south invade Guidos and subject residents to the role of servants and peons–like what Bitchfield public-office holders do to taxpayers.
We finally know what Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski will be paying for a whitewash: nearly $155,000 for an “independent” report the skoloochd kumitteeiy won’t even let them see. It works out to 424 hours @ $365/hr. That includes 405 hours for Judge Rupp’s salon visits. Business as usual.
One hundred fifty five thousand smackers for a con job and a snow job.
For this, the peons are supposed to be grateful, keep their mouths shut, and re-elect them in November.
———- ooo ———-
In THE PLANET‘s discussions with city sources hip to the ongoing school department scandal, we confirmed our theory that The Suits, alarmed panic when the feds busted the Dancin’ Dean, devised a strategy we call The Long Game (TLG).
After the Wiggins bust threatened to open a Pandora’s box of other PSD scandals, school department officials, mayor, the city council president met in secret (in direct violation of the Open Meetings laws). Nervous about the sudden attention on a department that eats 75% of a $226 million budget, they decided to “stall.”
The TLG is the old Four Corner Offense in hoop, now outlawed, where the team with the lead and the ball keeps passing it around to kill the clock, making no attempt to score. Hosannas for the shot clock, invented, BTW, in THE PLANET‘s stomping grounds, Syracuse, NY.
In politics, the guilty use TLG, responding to a problem by dragging it out, denying it, and erecting obstacles for the purposes of planting doubt in the minds of the public. A classic example is how Democrats hid Joe Biden’s mental and physical condition in 2020, using a fictitious “pandemic” to hide him in the basement. Once they illegally got him in office, they continued TLG.
TLG’s a form of institutional refutation predicated on the fact that most of the public, living hurried and worrisome lives as it is, simply will lose interest in scandal. This allows the story to vanish over time. You know, like the theft of $10,000 from a PHS drawer when its principal, an underwhelming DEI guy, resigned suddenly to “spend more time with his family” … same as current PHS principal Maggie Esko-Harrinton-Hypenate and supt. Jumin’ Joe Curtis.
The family that brays together stays together.
———- ooo ———-
This story has legs, and THE PLANET’s dogged efforts have (a) kept it alive (b) upset the TLG money table and (c) even forced the Boring Broadsheet to give the story ink and column inches. TLG has thus far failed also because of the action of supecitizen Ciala Batory, whose mounting-the-steed has gotten her deep into a joust with the PSD. Batory’s also taken out papers for school committee.
Batory’s latest thorn with which she’s scraping PSD rib cages is this:
PSD and Ann “If I Were A” Carpenter is now on the shot clock.
———- ooo ———-
Batory’s request has The Suits scrambling again. One gets the sense that Mayor Lumpy, Voltron the Porkchop, slocoh kummiiitey, and the school administration might be fearing an upset. Panic in the Year Zero. They aren’t used to that position, as their cheating and tilted fields attest. THE PLANET also notices that the Mercer Building is on fire, and our source(s) there say more than a few folks are considering “spending more time with their family.”
And remember taxpayers, residents, parents, and other concerned Kapanskis …
… it’s always for The Children.
Have a great weekend, everybody.
—————————————————————-
“Scared money don’t make money” — Wu-Tang Clan.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
I imagine the mayor and school committee members, along with a few other high ranking city insiders, think they got off cheap at $155,000. Their dogged efforts to conceal the report suggest that they might have been happy to pay ten times that to keep Pandora in her box.
Plus, it ain’t their money so why should they give a rats ass? But by spanking the citizenry publicly about how much their whining has cost, they hope people will sulk back to their corners and stop questioning them in the future.
SEE WHAT YOU STUPIT PEOPLE DID NOW? Ya wasted all this money fer nuttin!
Good Morning everyone and I hope everyone has a nice Memorial Day, this is the weekend we remember the ones that gave their lives so that we could live in a free society. As I have watched the politics in Pittsfield from afar I have to question are we really free when the city government takes more of my money and spends it on things that do not help me be more free nor successful? It (the city government) seems almost like the mob or a gang and we are just supporting them so they don’t do more damage or take more of our money.
I think it’s time for some TSC forensic audits to take place. Why doesn’t the city post their budget on line on the first page so that’s the first thing people see,,,,by the way the city may want to have someone update their website it’s has outdated information. I am sure there is a 5th grader who could fix it for them
Good Memorial Day back at you SK.
I had a good friend named Knut. Funny that nomme de guerre of yours.
$226.2 million budget proposal, a little over $154,000 legal payments, a new DEI Superintendent who was previously fired, school personnel resignations, Victoria May’s federal sex discrimination lawsuit that names Peter Marchetti, Voltron the Porkchop Pete White looking into offensive comment(s) made at open mic, and the bureaucracy playing the long game to protect themselves instead of the students.
PM is defending against workplace harassment, not sex discrimination. The other named are defending against sexual harrasment.
When the School Department consumes 75% of the budget of Pittsfield, the amount of power it wields is out of control. This scandal is showing us to what lengths the Pittsfield School Department will go to do a cover up. We do have new people running for the school committee and that’s a big step, but the same people who control the outcome of our elections in Pittsfield will vote to keep the status quo because it benefits them. it’s the people working for the school department who turn out to vote in large numbers and this keeps the whole corrupt system in place. No city should spend 75% of its budget on one department. That too is a scandal. We need more voters looking out for the students to get control of the school department and rein it in.
Dan, I hope you and the rest of The Planet, have a relaxing, enjoyable, Memorial Day weekend.
I would also like to thank you for keeping this PHS pedophile scandal on the front burner. We all know the GOBSIG’s are trying to bury this report in the worst way. Why? That remains to be seen.
I wanted to also pass on some information to Ciara Batory in her fight against the Bitchfield Scohol Comite.
I provided Ciara with two more options at her disposal. They both involve filing Bar Complaints against Mary Lou Rupp and the other against the Buckley Richardson Law firm. I’ll explain below.
First, I’ll start with the DEI Law Firm. By MA law and by the MA Board of Bar Overseers (BBO), the law firm must show on request, a DETAILED ACCOUNTING OF HOW AND WHERE THE MONEY WAS SPENT.
This means, “Investigator drove to Bitchfield on this day, this day, and that day, trying to contact witness #1, witness #2, etc,” with detailed times and accounting. Gas receipts, toll receipts, EVERY PENNY HAS TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR BY THE LAW FIRM TO JUSTIFY THEIR LEGAL WORK.
Not just, “On or about March, Investigator Smith, tried to contact Witness #1 with no luck.” No, No, No! They need to provide an accurate, detailed account of where the money was spent and how they went about trying to contact all parties involved.
**Remember, in the legal world, if it’s not documented, it didn’t happen.
Next, Mary Lou Rupp, I believe would be a “conflict of interest,” given her deep ties to the Berkshire legal community and the GOBSIG’s. Mary Lou Rupp should have declined this case and referred it elsewhere IMO.
People don’t like it when police departments investigate their own officer’s misconduct, how is this any different?
I have provided a link to the MA BBO below. If the results Ciara get back are unsatisfactory to her liking, I’d suggest she file a Bar Complaint on the two mentioned above.
Let them feel the heat and defend their actions, if they can. Food for thought.
https://www.massbbo.org/s/complaints
Can she ask for the journal entries? A full financial report showing each transaction and journal account used for the time period?
I believe that is the information you need to understand what happened. I’m thinking that may only be available from the City, and if they cannot provide it that is the area of attack. How can they prove their money did what they say it does if they cannot account for what it purchased?
Yes, she can request all the itemized work done by the DEI Law Firm to justify a $155k taxpayer tab. As a taxpayer, she has every right to request that information.
If I were advising Ciara, which I’m not, I’d start with the DEI Law Firm in any request. They’ll naturally defer to Mayor Lumpy and the Bitchfield city officials, who will then have another problem brewing.
It’s time to go scorched earth on the GOBSIG’s.
***Rolodexes’, Picklefield’s most feared Vigilante, horsesh!t PPP loans, ARPA funded African vacations, unvetted illegal aliens into the Berkshires, unqualified PHS administrators HIRED WITH A DANCING CERTIFICATE AND NOT A DEGREE, ONLY BECAUSE HE WAS A BLACK MALE (selling cocaine), hitting on juvenile aged students, ignoring a court order (209A) of a SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM (Me Too ring a bell liberals?), pot brownies, KEEPING PARENTS IN THE DARK, drag time story hour with kids (not sick adults, elderly, or war veterans, ALWAYS KIDS), Level 5 schools, PHS principals sending pu**y pics to their students, $154,000 taxpayer money spent in an attempt to bury this scandal, did I miss anything?
No, I think they’ve done enough damage. Kids are where most people draw the line.
And a good Memorial Day to you too, sir.
If all the above pans out why not have State of mASSachusetts go after the : Mayor, Sochol Committee, and Shitty Clowncil for open meeting violations.
Request investigations into any and all such meetings the public were not made aware of, and any transcripts/recordings of such meetings. Then get the SOBs to testify under oath.
Bitchfield’s leadership like all good communist governments, hide’s their idiotic spending misdeeds with taxpayers money..
Shitty Clowncil. I like that term. I wish I thought of it when I crafted President Voltron Porkchop
Your mind’s in the gutter.
MGL law open meetings.
https://www.mass.gov/doc/text-of-the-open-meeting-law/download
But these would have to be enforced by the current D-Rat AG, who is up to her Liberal arse in DIE/”Woke” agendas…..
The way Bitchfield’s leadership has been handling and covering up this whole scandal makes the Mafia look like Kindergarteners.
HR Michael Taylor does his DEI bidding via email and behind closed doors. Apparently people only like free speech if it fits their agenda.
What a snowflake
Bitchfield’s leadership doesn’t care about taxpayers money. Of course they do. That’s why they steal it.
This letter was sent to Supt. Curtis. A concerned parent wants some answers and she asks the supt. for an explanation … only to get crickets:
Kaitlyn Pierce
Yesterday at 5:46 AM
·
With everything going on with our schools I can’t believe I have to share this email I just wrote. If you have a child at Herberg especially please be aware of this and TALK TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT NOT TAKING ANYTHING FROM OTHER KIDS.
Hi Mr. Curtis,
I found out that a student brought pot brownies to school last Friday. I also heard that one or more students ate them and ended up in the hospital.
I am shocked that no parents were informed about this. We should have been told immediately. This is not just an issue between the school and one student’s family. Every child in that building could have been affected, and every parent should have been given the chance to talk to their child, watch for symptoms, and have an honest conversation about what happened.
I cannot understand how something this serious happened and was kept quiet. If my child had unknowingly eaten one of those brownies, I would have had no idea what was going on or what to tell a doctor. That is unacceptable.
What if it hadn’t been marijuana? What if it had been something even more dangerous? Fentanyl is showing up in places no one expects, and we all know how fast things can turn deadly. Even if this time it “wasn’t that bad,” that does not mean we can act like it’s not a big deal.
I have a few questions that need answers:
What exactly happened on Friday?
Why weren’t parents notified?
What action was taken with the student involved to make sure this student has support and find out how they got this to begin with?
What is the school doing to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again?
I should not be hearing about this through my child or other parents. I should be hearing it from the school. This is about trust, communication, and basic safety. Right now, it feels like all of that has been ignored.
I hope the school is prepared to be transparent with all families moving forward.
Sincerely,
Kaitlyn Pierce
No school nurse?
Someone might want to look into where the kid got the gummies, if he himself was in the habit of taking them, and whom else he or she might be distributing them to. There may be a story behind the story. Was the kid giving them away free or seeking remuneration. Was this the first time, or the first time with bad results? What inspired the kid to take the gummies to school and hand them out?
Excellent discourse Kaitlyn. Very bad things could have happened and the city is very lucky it did not.
At least I hope it did not but not sure we would find out if it did given the smoke screen floating around the school system in Pittsfield right now.
If the new super is in an official capacity now she might want to address it publicly and show parents she plans to be out front and on top of things of this nature. It’s not like we can count on the school committee or mayor.
May 23, 2025
Hello blogger Dan Valenti,
The letter writer gave Mayor Peter Marchetti a generous grade of C, and said that he is doing a mediocre job in Pittsfield politics.
I ask everyone if they could name one good thing for Pittsfield that has been done by the 2-Pete’s Pittsfield politics, please.
The 2-Pete’s have raised municipal taxes by over 7 percent, municipal fees by 8 percent, increased city spending by 5 percent and currently, they proposed a close to 3 percent city spending increase that will cause a second round of municipal tax and fee increases on local tax and fee payers.
The 2-Pete’s still has the city school debacle and scandals going on. They also rolled out the new toter trash pick-up program with no contractual accountability for Casella.
They both supported the controversial anti-panhandling proposal that failed to pass the City Council. The mayor proposed the anti-homeless (“unhoused”) proposal that is even more controversial than the aforementioned proposal.
In 2024, they settled the city pot permits lawsuits for hundreds of thousands of dollars in city funds, including cutting a city check to millionaire Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior’s Berkshire Roots in the amount of $341,000. Please note that Nuciforo donated $1,000 to Peter Marchetti’s mayoral campaign in 2023.
Mayor Peter Marchetti’s “One Pittsfield” tagline turned out to him proposing cruel city ordinances against the underclass, increasing city spending above the rate of inflation, along with big increases in municipal tax rates and fees, staying silent about the school debacle and scandals, and giving his close political ally and millionaire Nuciforo $341,000 in “Kapanski Ka$h” city funds.
Jon Melle
—–
Letter: “Ordinance targeted at homeless crosses the line into cruelty”
The Berkshire Eagle, May 23, 2025
To the editor: I have worked in Pittsfield for nearly 23 years and lived in Pittsfield for 14 years.
Just as in most cities, our mayors have been a mixed bag. Mayor Peter Marchetti has been doing a comfortably mediocre job; if I were to issue him a grade, he’d get a straight C.
But this week he not only failed basic governance but failed basic humanity. He stepped off the curb of common decency and into the realm of intentional cruelty. His proposed ordinance would criminalize the homeless and penalize those people who help their fellow citizens. (“Mayor Marchetti’s encampment ban ordinance draws backlash from housing advocates, city residents,” Eagle, May 19.)
It is the action of a common bully, not a leader. Mayor Marchetti’s actions are shameful. He would do well to remember that he is just a razor’s edge away from ending up in that same situation, just like the rest of us. This proposed ordinance is going to cause harm and might even cost lives. If you’re not helping, get out of the way of the people who are.
Katya Bowen, Pittsfield
—–
JON
With grade inflation, a C is like what an F was back in the day. Today, young people are devastated by “B”.
Dan, started long ago. Students think they “deserve” a B, for just Being in class.
Mayor Peter Marchetti gets an “A” grade for his BAIT and SWITCH from his “One Pittsfield” tagline to being a controversial leader who has people protesting his proposals targeting the underclass residents who panhandle and/or are homeless (“unhoused”).
“One Pittsfield” to his controversial handling of the school scandals.
“One Pittsfield” to his pot permits city settlement with millionaire Nuciforo.
“One Pittsfield” to increasing city spending by tens of millions of dollars that uses local tax and fee payers as the city government’s ATM.
FALSE CAMPAIGN; Even WORSE leadership!
Right on target.
Something is very wrong. Instead of a superintendent, assistant to the superintendent, and assistant to the assistant and each with a secretary or two, Maybe we need a change for a few years? How about eliminating those superfluous superintendency positions and hiring a qualified educational consultant for a few years. Of course, with a contract of a few years, at most.
Hey Katya, I have lived in The PItts for around 60 years, and have worked in The Pitts for around 50,and let me tell you sister that Pittsfield has become a complete shithole across time and while Marchetti may be a C average, a mixed bag, and comfortably mediocre, as you say, he deserves credit for trying to get the bums off the streets, the parks, hanging out with their shopping carts at the library, etc. I would suggest it is cruel to just allow these derelicts to wallow in their own filth, literally and figuratively. It is not the city’s job to sit idly by while these people take over our streets and parks, and shit and piss everywhere, and beg for handouts, nor is it the city’s responsibility to get them into housing. The mayor is right to push this, and is actually showing leadership, for a change. Do you want Pittsfield to turn into the pacific northwest, or Kennsington PA? All of this coddling and enabling behavior is ruining America. Get clean, get sober, get a job, get off the streets. There are enough programs out there, mostly government funded to assist including free phones, free heat, free apartments, free groceries and everything else for the layabouts. If they choose to layabout, the city should not stand let them do it on city property.
He’s doing it now for the benefit of rich tenants on North St and special interest developers. The balance shifted from pandering to special interest Social Justice groups to Special Interest developer.. The two are in the same bed and one needs to roll over.
It’s not leadership.
Both fat Gut Pete the Mayor..Voltron, Fat Gut Bowler, clown shoes Shagrue, sticky fingers Krol, am I forgetting anybody?/ promised to clean up the streets of beggars, drug addicted meth heads, trash, walking dead, they were all going to revive the city….They all are just as culpable in this cesspool this city has become. The political pool is just as bad as the labor pool. Just a bunch of inept all talk , no action blanks!
Marchetti and his tax and spend and tax breaks for the rich polices, combined with refusal to make necessary cuts, is contributing to the very homeless problems he is so upset about. Even middle income peeps are struggling to keep up with everything going up and up. Marchetti could cut gobs of porcine fat from his budget but is not man enough to stand up to the special interests who feed on his excessive spending on unneeded and unwanted pork. Marchetti and his pokey- man friends on the council are 100% the problem in Pittsfield. Marchetti is either too lazy to do the work, too afraid of pissing off pork recipients or just does not care about folk who do not have his kind of assets, perks and benefits. And when I see and hear the man speak, nothing about his demeanor suggests to me that he cares about the regular people in his city. He is what he is.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. People have to realize, we are a small City of 42,000 we can only support so many layabouts. They are putting a strain on our Police department and Ambulance services. Build it and they will come. Stop expanding services from this point on. Start sending our over flow Homeless, to other communities who can give them help. There’s no more room in Pittsfield. Maybe Ruth Bass and Bitch Slapped can take some folks in.
The homeless are a permanent part of society/community. It can’t be avoided. There needs to be accommodations and services, but as you point out the admin makes money by bringing in the destitute from Boston. Pittsfield residents lacking money and shelter must compete with those from afar.
The best solution I know of is a managed community of modular 10’x10′ units with a security agent and mental health/social worker presence. Adding to it is cheap, it is modular, and probably cheaper than the current model.
And it needs to be restricted to those living in Pittsfield 2 years. And of course it needs to be programmed to get people out and back into employment (better: out of Pittsfield to green fields and hence from that dirty old town.)
Did not say eliminate all homeless people. We have around 2-3 hundred homeless people in Pittsfield. We should give them help. But we can’t go any bigger. We have to stop enabling them. Get them going onto being sober and employed. There’s nothing wrong with sending over flow to other communities who have more resources. 12,000 + is the estimate for our State, Pittsfield should spend more time attracting businesses instead of layabouts.
This is a reasonable approach, JOE.
I’m not ‘attacking’ your point, but making my own. I also am firmly committed to property rights and ownership which are the bedrock of liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
As a past councilor, I had to address the complaints from business owners too cowardly to speak up about incursions upon their properties. Social Justice slander groups owned the bed then. Now apparently the developers are getting theirs. Then, no one on the Council or in Comm Dev had wanted to get in between the SJ mob and the street. Cowards and lazy “it can’t be done, especially if it comes from you” stuff.
By luck I met a resident of Lincoln who told me about these modular homes that are 4 season. Like a camping ground, but managed. Compassion is essential; there is no explaining how a person becomes homeless or even appears to prefer it in some cases. It is simply a fact. There is no hope if you count on cowards.
Drug abuse and mental illness are a core component of homelessness. And I have no idea if any municipality is making any headway dealing with that.
It may sound cruel to say it but Narcan may be making it much worse. Sometimes death is a kindness. Sometimes it can end what will become long time suffering. Wonder what percentage of Narcan recipients bounce back and live happy productive lives.
People become homeless for a reason and stay homeless, if adults, for one of three main reasons, often intermingled – drug abuse, mental illness, and laziness.
I agree. North Street in Pittsfield no longer has stores. It mainly has social service agencies catering to the people that Pittsfield politicians want to keep dependent on government. Somewhere in that huge mix of agencies there has to be housing options for the homeless. If not, then the invasion of illegal immigrants is the problem. Either way, Democrats have created this problem of homelessness and it’s out of control across the country in Democrat run cities and states.
The Pittsfield library was almost set on fire last summer due to huge groups of homeless sleeping outside the library. Supposedly they cleared them out, but they seem to have slowly returned. Some people it seems want to live outside especially in good weather, but these people should be set up in trailers and then they can sleep outside their trailer if they desire, but still have a home for colder weather. It would make more sense to have trailer parks for the homeless instead of giant buildings that some homeless people seem to shy away from.
Kennsington PA (the dreary railray tracks) – the birthplace of the creative genius of David Lynch. Very good!
Railway. I’m getting old I think.
Is there another school coverup at Herberg? Or would an investigation show nothing happened?
https://theberkshireedge.com/pittsfield-school-district-investigating-may-16-cannabis-edibles-brownies-incident-at-herberg-middle-school/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKdwRhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFZWHh0ZGhGMXhZNjNIN29qAR4pP8rbse1sC-cPoy9tze5XwJGCPT0XN_PFzWxkAfaKuFpLb2Ao6mC_rNRicg_aem_txDP4Vvg3IbCV9Y7IenI0Q
Brownie-gate.
57 Channels and nothing on, is the name of a Springsteen song. Perhaps he can write another -157,000 dollars and nothing to see here folks – after they pay another 365 per hour addressing Batory’s request for the full accounting, it will be around 157,000.
Good one Joe. Much truth.
Another Jewish related shooting.
Assassination pornography is the Woke.
Batory Ram.
The Boss, who is a make believe working man’s hero, who actually is a lefty loon lib who never worked a real job a single day of his life is too busy bashing Trump in England, to write that tune.
Puff head is so full of queer.
May 24, 2025
Hello blogger Dan Valenti,
Pittsfield politics other name is RETRIBUTION. I know that Pittsfield’s other name is “BITCH-field” due to Peter Marchetti’s alleged use of the sexist term against Victoria May when the now Mayor was her bank manager years ago. He is named, along with two other men bank managers, in Victoria May’s federal lawsuit versus the Pittsfield Cooperative Bank.
Negative reinforcement is a nicer term than bullying people. RETRIBUTION is used by bullies who hurt weaker people who struggle to defend themselves, such as panhandlers and homeless (“unhoused”) residents.
Political insiders have long led Pittsfield (into the ditch), which is our native hometown. When the fictional Kapanski family wants to exercise FREE SPEECH, they know that they will be met with RETRIBUTION by the corrupt insiders in state and local government.
If Pittsfield politics wasn’t so corrupt, ran by insiders, and all about RETRIBUTION, then the people would NOT be as critical of Mayor Peter Marchetti’s proposals against panhandlers and the homeless (“unhoused”).
I read that over 30 residents spoke at open mic at the recent City Council meeting. I also read that there are a lot of new candidates for School Committee and City Council in the 2025 municipal election. I read that a lot of good people are protesting Mayor Peter Marchetti’s controversial leadership and ordinance proposals, including all of the letters to the editors, blog posts, and social media posts.
I believe that political RETRIBUTION by the corrupt insiders in Pittsfield is coming to an end soon. I hope that the new candidates win in the 2025 municipal election in Pittsfield. I hope that the people will stand up to the corrupt political insiders to give the city government and public school district back to the people in the spirit of democracy whereby everyone in Pittsfield will be treated with fairness and safety.
Jon Melle
Another MA leftist wants to curtail your movements…..
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/05/reduce-need-personal-vehicles-top-massachusetts-democrat-wants/