BITCHFIELD CITY, SCHOOL OFFICIALS KEEP LYING TO TAXPAYERS AND CITIZENS
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE WEDNESDAY JAN. 21, 2026) — The city of Bitchfield isn’t being honest about its finances — not that it’s been in the past couple Administrations. After endless harping on the strength of the city treasury, the spendthrifts will blow another $120 million in taxpayers’ money. Allow THE PLANET to enumerate:
- $100 million for a new, unnecessary elementary school
- $15 million for Phase 1 of the Rape of Wahconah Park
- $5 million lost to school choice.
Your mayor and school board chairman. The one on the right, that is.
This total does not include:
- $9 million in new capital debt
- $X million in overage of PSD health insurance costs
- PSD pay hikes due to contracted raises.
- Nearly half a Billion (B) in OPEB obligations
- Other debts amounting to millions more.
And it’s all being hidden. The city keeps paying the minimum on what it owes, simply deferring the looming collapse for another day, when the current crooks operating this bunco game are long gone.
———- ooo ———-
One other note of interest with respect to the new SC was the undertone of a major premise operating in the school department, one that has severely undermined public education in the city. One had to listen between the lines to pick it up. It came during the public comment period.
A woman pointed out that 70% of students in the system are from poverty. That statistic provides a sober comment on the state of health and wealth in the city, reinforcing the points made above about the sickness in Bitchfield finances. What the SC and the department do with that fact, however, remains the real tragedy, namely, the implicit assumption that poor kids can’t learn.
Poor kids can’t learn. That’s what the educators believe.
That is the flaw in the city’s entire approach to public education. Of course, you won’t find one member of the SC, administration, or staff that would admit to it, but how else can one explain the presence of so many “educational” programs designed not for true learning but for social engineering, “feel good” initiatives, cultural competency (don’t get us going!), and other time wasters that take the place of a basic “Three Rs” approach?
———- ooo ———-
THE PLANET knows differently. Poor kids CAN learn if the curriculum teaches reading, writing, and math. Case in point, the state of Mississippi, “where new teachers training, rigorous testing, and switching to phonics-based reading instruction produced startling improvements.” That quote is from a recent article in The Atlantic by Jon Chalt.
He goes on: “Over a decade, the state’s fourth-grade reading scores rose from 49th [in the nation] to the top 20, and Mississippi now does a far better job of teaching literacy than do many Northern states.”
Chalt decried the response of the uber-left teachers unions, which falsely claimed the improvements were due to “statistical manipulation.” That’s what unions do. For any educational success stories that lie outside the unions’ powerful clutches, (charter schools, choice, back-to-the-basics, high standards that won’t be watered down), they panic and lie. They hate success.
The only person who can save Bitchfield.
“In progressive ideology, schools cannot be expected to overcome poverty and inequality,” Chalt writes. “Teachers unions embrace [they belief that they can] because they ‘loathe accountability” for low-performing teachers. But urban public charter schools regularly outperform traditional public schools and districts that adopt rigorous testing and accountability see steady improvement. Democrats should not reject the hard work of lifting up educational opportunities for poor kids.”
Ah, but in loon-left Bitchfield, they do reject it. Sad sack Lumpy, Dumpster, DEI Queen Latifah, overpaid administrators, and greedy unions want to keep the kids ignorant and shoeless. That way, they discourage electoral involvement and hold on to a tiny, captured minority that, sadly, makes up the majority of turnout.
The fix is not only in, but it’s cemented in place.
——————————————————————
“Those who hide have a hidden desire to be found” — Sir Donald Turpentine, Knight of the Bath.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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Poor kids and LEGAL immigrants can learn.
My Grandparents LEGALLY immigrated via Ellis Island. They were tested for diseases, and learned English.
Then became naturalized US citizens, raised 11 children during the great depression, on their own farm, with no government graft.
Some even started school in, what once was, Pittsfield.
Politicians do NOT care about public education, otherwise they would NOT be in elected office!
Didn’t you learn anything trap.Started so chol not school Trap.
That happened after my Mom knew, PPS/PITTSfield politicians are ALL so corrupt!
Musta been quite embarrassing for your Mom when you dropped out in the fourth grade.
I’ve taught at Colleges that would never accept an idiot like You.
Moron > Imbecile > Idiot = You
^^^^ idiot You < moron
Yes I lrearned
Same with my grandparents, TRAP. Legal immigrants. Learned English. Worked hard. Received no handouts. Assimilated.
Mine too. Russian migration of 1890’s – Ellis Island, quarantines, no handouts. Pre Rev Dutch didn’t get handouts either.
My Mother taught PPS, “Little Angelo”…..”Oh He wouldn’t have done that….”
BOYS Club Camp Counselor Carmen was on the Pittsfield School Committee, too.
Car MEN
Car BOYS.
We would have been okay with men.
Did you enjoy getting “diddled” John? Sorry to ask.
Entitiled to a settlement?
Queen Latifah quoted in iberkshires:
“… We all need to face the reality that our inequities stem from our history, and are based primarily on skin color. The whiter an individual’s skin, the fewer obstacles stand in the way of them achieving their potential.
It is precisely that ideology that ironically keeps “of color” of color. She is promoting the discrimination she thinks she’s fighting. That is the attitude driving PPS. That is the attitude that will keep city schools at Level 5.
Holy crap. This is the mindset that pulls schools down. Contributes to level five ratings and necessitates huge budgets to implement. Fails everyone along the line, students, teachers and taxpayers. Steers the focus away from education.
One hundred more parents are now looking for the paperwork to opt out of the system. This is the kind of thinking that pulls the country apart. I had high hopes but this is Pittsfield and this is the road we are on.
Sounds like a PPS alum.
If all else fails , they will raise their
voices and whip out the race card! If they don’t have one? The race hustlers will FedEx overnight one just for you..
Does she provide evidence?
She should read Julius Wilson.
https://www.iberkshires.com/story/81437/Pittsfield-School-Board-See-Update-on-Middle-School-Restructuring.html
Of course the DEI superintendent is characterizing any amount of spending as “equity”, so taxpayers who object are racist. Meanwhile there is a “resident” who seems to be an NAACP operative talking about how white students will soon be replaced by the “global majority” so white taxpayers should get to the back of the bus and pay up.
“… We all need to face the reality that our inequities stem from our history, and are based primarily on skin color. The whiter an individual’s skin, the fewer obstacles stand in the way of them achieving their potential. An equity lens is how we own this reality, talk about it, and make changes in systems, policies, procedures, and our own behaviors in order to interrupt it.”
January 21, 2026
Re: Predictable Pittsfield politics….
Hello blogger Dan Valenti,
Pittsfield politics is predictable. Here is my list:
1. One political (Democratic) party provincial insiders who answer to the same one political party, corrupt bosses in Boston.
2. Excessive city and public school spending by tens of millions of dollars per fiscal year. Westfield is a similarly sized small city in Western Massachusetts to Pittsfield that spends over $62 million LESS than Pittsfield per fiscal year.
3. Hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal debt plus other unfunded liabilities. Pittsfield’s close to $1 billion in debts/liabilities will be paid off by Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, along with Pigs with Wings that Fly over Pittsfield’s elitist Gated Community wealthy neighborhood full of $1 million mansions where former Mayor Linda Tyer and her 3rd husband, millionaire CPA Barry Clairmont, along with Pittsfield’s Pot King, millionaire Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior, live.
4. Insider-only Audits of Kufflink’s cooked books without an independent FORENSIC Audit. The ARPA “Biden Bucks” funds and other accounts were/are financially managed and spent in SECRET. I have long pondered how municipalities grow their SLUSH FUNDS with our taxpayer dollars. What about all of the Senior Citizens and other residents in Pittsfield who live on a fixed income? Answer: They are Pittsfield’s ATM, and on a good day, a doormat, and on the bad days, a toilet for the Mayor and City Councilors to shit on.
5. Going back several decades, the same municipal and public school budgets with the same copy and paste 5-percent per fiscal year spending increases. “Free Cash” is always in the millions of dollars per fiscal year, but it it is NOT “free” to the fictional Kapanski’s. The Kapanski’s work hard to survive, but their hard-earned money rewards the career politicians’ excessive spending instead of their own peace of mind.
6. Downtown Pittsfield’s “Social Services Alley”-North Street’s around 15 empty storefronts surrounded by the distressed inner-city neighborhoods that surround North Street that are called “The Ring of Poverty”. Moreover, Pittsfield’s commercial (business) tax rate is very close to the top commercial (business) tax rate in Massachusetts, only second to Holyoke. Pittsfield taxes its business at the maximum tax rate.
7. Level 5 (failed), Group 11 (underclass) Pittsfield public schools that 679 students choice out of to neighboring public school district per academic year, that face a possible $10 million budget deficit due to the Swamp’s severe cuts in state administered, federal aid funding. NOTE: Pittsfield’s city-side agencies also face millions of additional state administered, federal aid funding cuts. Pittsfield’s budget deficit may be in the tens of millions of dollars in fiscal year 2027 that begins on July 01, 2026. Over 100 Pittsfield employees may be laid off from their public employment later this year, 2026 going into 2027.
8. Pittsfield’s violent crime rate more than doubles the statewide average since at least 1980, which is a little over the past 45 years. Between the failed, impoverished public schools and the 2x-violent crime rate, Pittsfield is NOT attracting middle-class families who shop at small businesses that are taxed at the highest level.
9. Economic Growth in Pittsfield is called “Perverse Incentives” because the only growth in Pittsfield is in the small city’s large underclass population, while thousands of families have moved away, as well as hundreds of businesses have closed over the past 50 years, and blight is a big problem.
10. The reason why Pittsfield’s distressed and severely unequal local economy is called “Perverse Incentives” is because, as then one-term Mayor Sara “Shoegum” Hathaway (2002 – 2003) stated: “Pittsfield is a Junkie for State Aid”, which is defined as federal aid dollars that are distributed by Boston’s state bureaucrats. NOTE: It is a good thing that she could NOT pad her public pension due to her 2025 loss for one of the four the Pittsfield City Council At-Large seats. I still wonder the amount of her undisclosed city settlement check was back in 2015, but I/we are sorry for her loss as a Pittsfield school teacher many years ago, along with the several other then middle-aged, woman Pittsfield school teachers back then.
There are many more numbers to my list, but I will keep it at 10 today.
Best wishes,
JON MELLE
Dan, was giving Supt. Philip’s the benefit of being new. After reading her quotes in IBerkshire I would say we’re in for it. Blabbing on about equity strategy and equitable education doesn’t make the test scores any better. Morningside students only have 12% efficient at Math, Crosby 12% & Conte 8%. Reading not much better 22% Morningside, 17% Crosby and 17% Conte. She thinks they just got to get the word out about all the good things PPS are doing. The word unfortunately is out and it’s not good. F the Equity shit and get those scores up.
PS. Pittsfield Public Schools is 50.7% White. The State of Ma. with its 394 Districts is 50.8% White. Stop making excuses.
Quote of the month, JOE:
“F the Equity shit and get those scores up.”
Perhaps this is why she was available for the job and found a district that was on the desperate side due to the toxicity of the hidden report.
SHEP
She checked the right boxes: black, female, “progressive”, DEI-laced. You raise a good point about the toxicity left over when They decided to keep the report under wraps.
The Supreme Court conservatives are not allowing Trump to fire the Fed Reserve committee member without real cause, because it would allow future presidents to do the same, which would be a problem with a democratic president in 2028. This, of course, is the correct view.
Woodrow Wlllson fan.
You like income tax too?
You never listed those 3 policies the democRATS have proposed to help the American taxpayer and not illegal aliens, without mentioning Trump.
Greenspan should have been fired.l too.
* fired too
Trump made a shameful racist rant today in Europe. Who gives him or the US the right to insist America must take Greenland? He is no better than Putin insisting Russia needs Ukraine for security purposes. Trump is an embarrassment to what US Democracy has stood for and for the words and laws this country was founded on. He is nothing more than a White Supremacist ideologue and his own vile hate filled speech proved that today. He has a superiority complex with a belief that the US and he himself has God Given’ inalienable rights. He is an embarrassment to America.
To make Moombat Lefttists , like YOU, heads blow up
Mad Hatter-
No heads blowing up here. Mostly just laughing at your justifications and poor logic!
Who gave Denmark, which in great benevolence blocked the native people there from international trade and subjected them to some very hard treatment up to the 1970’s the right to govern it.
The US probably should not have returned governance of Greenland to Denmark after WWII.
Doesn’t matter anyway, we’re just talking to the headlines. But if you want to talk about supremacist complexes, talk to the Danes.
Rumor has it that the Europeans came to the American continent and slaughtered tens of thousands of its inhabitants and took over their land. In the name of Christianity, I suppose, as so many of the mass slaughters were.
Trumps God would have wanted it this way. He is ending his ninth war by taking over Greenland and has plans for Mexico and Canada. Ending wars after he starts them. That is why maga voted for him. Now he is the world’s bully, and they still love him and cannot understand why the rest of the whole world hates him.
There is zero future for the Alpha generation. It is the generation of lost hope.
Weird.
Sir Chaz
Exactly!
The Danes like the US in the past and currently suffered from same arrogance that gave Colonialists the supreme right to invade countries all over the world. Just like the US did to Native Americans and the right to import human slaves.
Your focus on US native and nascent American relations is not unsupported, but it is forced.
That “invasion” was and is the behavior of all people’s then and now.
Indians were invading,warring, enslaving their neighbors before and during the British & French colonial experience. Canada o ly first apologized for their practice if forced conversion and kidnapping Natives last couple years ago, and they’ve been doing that well into the 20th century.
US policy in territories is benign and in contrast to Europeans’ recent attitude and behavior.
US has no business taking over another Sovereign Nation such as Greenland. Just bully – might is right tactics. Just as Russia has no right to invade Ukraine. Both are portrayed and justified as security measures which is presents a false narrative and appearance necessity when in fact it’s all about minerals and raw resources. Nothing more than the same initial motivation as European and American Colonialism.
Land grab, resource grab, might is right attitude and dominance. Disgusting! But such is your Man and choice to support!
DEnmark took over sovereign territory.
We fought the first modern war to end slavery, with European efforts to support the South. The only war the French fought over slavery was the bloody butchery to suppress the revolt. Reading what they did will sear your mind.
I suggest you reread Heart Of Darkness. It’s happening again, same place, same victims. different exploiters. And people here have made the religious dictate to support it with zealous consumption of lithium cobalt hungry green energy.
You are a fool.
Greenland is of strategic importance to the security of our country, as China & Russia operate in the Arctic……
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/01/21/admiral-at-davos-america-right-to-be-worried-about-strategic-greenland/
Not risking nuclear wars would be good for the security of our country.
Putin says the same thing about Ukraine. Drink the Kool Aid much?
And, he is also correct about Ukraine. Ukraine cannot exist as an independent nation if it endeavors to join NATO. That forces Russian hand to declare war.
Read & educate yourself …….
https://thefederalist.com/2026/01/21/denmark-doesnt-deserve-greenland/
Me Fizz- ROFL
On whose and what authority is ‘deserved’ decided!
Game of chess…..
https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/richard-grenell-donald-trump-davos/2026/01/21/id/1243059/
Mr. Fizz
Ha Ha!! you wholesale read and believe this crap!
Nuff said! Explains all!
Spoken like a true assclown, aka-Meanwhile
Is it true that Fort Knox has mysteriously been emptied out and the last person near the place had orange hair?
MA-
Your assumption of my identity is incorrect!
Your only reading material must be the Berkshire Eagle.
The Libs reading and viewing material is Eagle, NPR, CNN and MSM. They don’t know. Inflation is down drastically since Bumbles. Gas and eggs also. GDP up, stock market up. Border closed. Also Clinton deported 12 million, Obama 5 million and Trump is at 1.5 million to date. They really much, except Orange man bad.
Eagle edition Jan 17-18 had an article titled ” The Cost of journalistic cowardice.”
That title made me think of Pittsfield and how a little help now and again from the media, calling out political malfeasance, would have been helpful.
Journalistic cowardice? How nice of the paper to right about itself.
No!! Don’t waste my time with The Eagle. You sure do to assumptions Fizz.
I cannot read the Eagle anymore. I only see the headlines. The Eagle’s blacklist of Jon Melle is close to the past 22 years. My letters are as worthless to the Eagle as the failed politicians from Pittsfield to Boston (& beyond). I don’t count to the Eagle, but I am heard on Dan Valenti’s blog.
Yes you are heard here, JON.
I wrote a couple of letters to the editor in the way back when. They did not black list me but did not like my criticism of one of their favorite advertisers and they basically rewrote my comments twisting what I had said.
This was before the current owners though I do not see that things would be any different.
Bondi had Patel’s FBI arrest two of the “organizers”/BLM Thugs, that planned the riot/invasion of a Christian Church during services, in St. Paul MN last Sunday.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/minnesota/article_fd3b25a4-07a3-41ca-a942-33208318230d.html
“U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi made the announcements Thursday morning.
“So far, we have arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, who allegedly played a key role in organizing the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” Bondi said on social media. “Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP.”
Just minutes later, Bondi announced the arrest of Chauntyll Louisa Allen. She promised “more to come.”
Armstrong is a civil rights lawyer who is accused of helping organize the protest. Allen is the clerk of the St. Paul Board of Education.”
Sounds like they’d both fit right in we the PPS Administration/Sochol Board!
Disgraced former “Journalist” Don Lemon participated in the attack on the church, but is still roaming free.
TRAP
Yes, let’s brings these two CHECK-THE-RIGHT-BOXES to Bitchfield. Nekima for mayor. Chauntyll for school soup.
Some interesting stuff on the next Tuesday city council agenda. If someone could post it it would be nice. Someone asking for the school report to be released. Number 25 of course long after the sun has gone down.
Why don’t YOU post it? Too lazy?
Actually Fritz I am running low on ink right now and need to save it in case I need to respond to something else stupid you might say.