SINGING THE SOCHOL DEPARTMENT BLUES
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY SEPT. 23, 2026) — THE PLANET could not exist without sources. We like to say we have contact in every city office and department. Not all of them will speak for publication, some refuse entirely, and almost no one will go on the record for fear of retaliation, and as we all know, official policy, in its sick preservation of the corrupt status quo, punishes whistle blowers. As our readers know, neither Lumpy, Voltron, or Dumpster will even speak to us, saving all their worn-out syllables for the usual BS.
That said, we do have city employees who will share information, for publication, on the condition of anonymity. Take Mercer, the Sochol Department HQ, where we heard from Red Schoolhouse. Seems there’s been much going on that mayor Lumpy, supt. Queen Latifah, and sochol committee chair Mr. Lumpy don’t want you to know about. Red laughed when we said we were “holding our breath waiting for The Boring Broadsheet to report on these matters.”
As for the sochol committee itself, to the best of our knowledge, none of the members has said a peep about what’s actually happening.
———- ooo ———-
Red outlined several issues. One of them is busing. First off, the City of Bitchfield is no longer qualified to run a bus company, he/she says, which is what school busing requires. The city fleet has been plagued by problems. These include mechanical failure, lateness, missing pickups, and new drivers not sufficiently trained, and unruly kids. When buses are late or don’t pick up the kids, it causes chaos for families, to say nothing of the classroom time students miss because they arrive late.
Red also said that finding solid, reliable drivers has become a “giant headache” for the department.
“We have routes that aren’t being filled, and overtime isn’t the answer. Ask taxpayers, because they’re on the hook for it. You also get burnout for overworked drivers, but our biggest problem comes in vetting. It’s becoming harder to find potential drivers that we would trust around our children.” In short, the pedos are becoming part of the city landscape, prolly the result of accepting all that “free” grant money.
Solution? Get out of the bus business. Farm it out.
———- ooo ———-
Our source also brought up other issues vexing the department, problems your officials wish to keep under wraps.
- Chronic absenteeism: This persistent issue has only gotten worse since COVID. Red didn’t have figures but guessed that the number to be around 40%, maybe over.
- Attendance: Different from those who are habitually missing, this problem includes student who attend sporadically. She mentioned that the department doesn’t properly track this number or the related matter of students who are chronically tardy. She says attendance figures from the administration situation are “unreliable.” THE PLANET asked what she meant. Miss S answered with a world-weary chuckle: “It means … let’s put it this way. We aren’t sharing the real numbers with the public.”
- Classroom behavior: From what our source says, this remains a persistent problem that has only gotten worse in recent years, especially in the middle schools. The recent realignment hasn’t helped and seems to have made the situation worse with the disruption it has caused.
Red’s assessment agrees with one parent with whom THE PLANET spoke. Parent said she and her husband got their child out of Reid Middle School after the school scandal report was not released to the public. Quoting Mrs. Parent: “That was the last straw. Our daughter, who has been an exceptional student, was being passed over because teachers having their hands full of the bad students. Kids cursing teachers, ignoring instructions, bullying, and other issues. We opted out of the district, and it’s the best thing we’ve ever done.”
Parent’s child was victim to Queen Latifah’s philosophy of “inclusive budgeting.” Translated into the vernacular, it means that most of the money goes to the worst students. The best ones get ignored and left on their own.
The Bitchfield Sochol Department eats up 3/4 of the entire city budget. Despite that enormous sum, the department keeps sinking. It doesn’t bode well for the near and long-term future.
And that’s our understatement of the year.
——————————————————
“Spare the Rod, spoil the Kanehl” — Sir Donald Turpentine, Knight of the Bath.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE”
LOVE TO ALL.
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Stop fucking complaining about the schools. Bitchfield nor Massachusetts will never change one iota period. We are a tax and spend state. The schools and all the rest control the voting. It is a democratic progressive state and always will be.
Move out while or if you can.
Tax, Spend and Grift state.
I believe Winston Churchill spoke at tonight’s City Council meeting. I could be wrong.
It is “Synthetic”.
Level 5 rating.
Underclass student population.
Close to 700 students per academic year choice out to neighboring public school districts.
6-figure legal report hidden by local officials.
NDA’s to former school personnel who screwed up with students.
Chair Peter Marchetti and Queen Latifah dealing with the mess.
Earl and the 2-Pete’s Pittsfield politics refusing to talk to blogger Dan Valenti.
Talk about what? It is what it is. Do you think they want transparency with the Planet. They’re doing just fine without him getting re-elected. How about Councilor Lampiasi – Guiel provoking the two male council members about their decisions?particularly Warren and Cunningham?
Why does The Council President allow this behavior? And now you have the City Clerk taking the minutes adding her two cents ? Is she even allowed by law to do that to Council Members ?
Why is Amuso allowed to be on the licensing board ? No conflict of interest ?
Cunningham should petition to have the council hire an independent clerk.
Principal Reid would have been horrified at what is happening at the school that bears his name. Principal Reid would have had his hands full with this generation of kids growing up with drugs and violence everywhere, but he had a way of knowing how to get an entire school of kids under control.
The “Pedo” problem becoming part of the city is disgusting so now we can’t even find trustworthy bus drivers. There is a huge number of kids taking the bus now in the Morningside neighborhood since their school closed. It’s sad because those kids used to be able to walk to school. Now even more bus drivers are needed to transport all of these kids.
Dan. Since you won put my posts in. Check out the city council meeting. The city clerk thinks she a council member.Cunningham is the new Charles. Everyone against him. I thought a charter objection stopped all debate and discussion.
Have noticed that the last two City Clowncil meetings Michelle Benjamin has become so pissed off while Cam Cunningham is speaking she has rudely left her POST as note taker and stormed into the back room slamming the door. Noticed last night many pertinent comments were made during the meeting and NO Michelle to document. During my career at a major company I was the “minutes taker”. If I acted that way during a meeting I would have been called into my bosses office to explain myself. If Michelle can’t handle what councilors are saying, especially if she disagrees, then she should have another “minute taker” fill in for her. Also, it seems like Persip has no problem allowing Lampiasi to interrupt other speakers, why is he allowing HER rude behavior?
I will also say, GO CAM, keep up the good work. In the past two meetings he has brought out quite a few discrepancies and broken rules, it is showing how messed up and illegal this Administration is. He has Marchetti red-faced and babbling.
To think that the City is paying a six figure salary to the “DEI specialist” and he admts he never has had to straighten out an issue since the start of his employment two years ago. Seventeen minor chats is all he has done. What a waste of taxpayer money. This is where an audit is needed. Although dream on taxpayers, the audit discussion was also crooked.
Cam Bam may be the new rising star. Can he fill the large footprints left by Sir Chaz? We hope so.
It is my hope that he already has exceeded their small print.
And they will be against Cunningham as long as he honors his oath of office and represents the people. He is hampering the Good Old Boy agenda.
The greatest abuse of a Charter Objection is forcing a politician to show up for work on an early Friday evening.
Have they ever explained why neighborhood schools is a poor educational model to follow? Seems it would help create a community for the whole school population and the citizens that live near the school.
That neighborhood school will be apartments before you know it. Black Rock bought up the whole neighborhood.
Bruno was something else.
I heard from a trusted source that one of the Morningside “students” threatened the new classmates at Williams with murder. Stating they would come back with daddy’s guns and finish them off….way to start the second grade!
When you can’t control your administration how can you control the students. Inmates (students) run the prison. Let’s see the absentee numbers and the fights after school stats. Do teachers get battle pay? I agree with Mr.Valenti on everything City. No leadership at all.
Councilor Cunningham had every right to question the mayor or anyone else. If the city clerk can’t do her job without crying in front of the public, let one of her assistants take the mantle recording. No class.
They should make that kid stand in the corner for a while. Bet he would never talk like that again.
MCAS scores released for 2026. Pittsfield Public Schools didn’t fair so well. New superintendent, reminds me of a female Al Sharpton. Everything is about race and equity. Golden rule, applies to ALL! Stop the race baiting. Agree 1000 percent about the busing situation in PPS . Time for major changes.
Occam razor, suggests not only privatizing falling schooling also.
Charter schools are providing better education and lower cost. Because they are not Union controlled.
That the Commiewealth cannot find drug free drivers, for any commercial purpose, is a direct result of pot for tax profits policy.
The back room dealing of licensesby Lucifero and co, will be prosecuted soon:)
Pedo rape culture began and continues in trial court elitists.
Seeing the pattern yet?
9/23/26@5am
Tom
Luciforo belonged in prison decades ago.
Decades from now, Luciforo will be rotting in Hell with Lucifer.
So might you if you keep thinking about him. Reread Matthew. “Get thee behind me.”
Good (pun intended) point.
I have a blog named: Luciforo.
I post many comments about: Luciforo.
I should not keep thinking about: Luciforo.
It is too similar to me thinking about: Lucifer.
Instead, I believe in: For God and Country.
We are the Good (pun intended) guys who have been thrown under the bus in “the Pitts” by bad people who are NO good.
Thank you.
John
Forgiveness, must be requested,
I understand your
Pursuit of justice, I just believe you’re discrediting yourself with unfounded factual accusations.
Less verbiage, more facts….
I repeat myself….
9/24/26@noon
Tom
Andy, Andy, Andy!!! JM’s Hercules, Hercules, Hercules!!!
Almost a year ago some high level folk on the school committee (not the mayor of course), after seeing the shocking number of kids opting out of the Pittsfield school system, stated that they were going to interview the kids and parents of those opting out to get at the root of the problem. And this seems quite a logical thing to do right?
Can anyone from the school committee or city council verify if this was ever even done and if so what did they find out? And if this was done was it published in local media and where the public could have read it?
And if it was NOT done could the mayor or school superintendent please explain why?
Holding my breath………….
Why waste taxdollars on interviewing people when you know the answer? The interviews would have been cherry picked and filtered to give nice results.
That’s why we’d be better off as a city and visually to if Jon Krol had beaten Mayor Beer Belly.
Phony Meanwhile is back. If you see a post signed Meanwhile that mentions Jon Krol it is bogus
We shall tell AI & the Robots to be on the lookout.
How do you know that was MW? Looks the same. Name the same. Same words, punctuation, both are about JK.
Ban them both; you won’t be completely wrong.
Dan
Is delaying my submissions , because ;
1) he prefers to protect his colleagues in education.
2) Timmy the fixer, will take his keyboard away
Only people lobbying against school choice vouchers in Massachusetts, are Unions and their minions, Moron Healey and rest of Demonrats. Timmy’s Friends…
Nichole Hannah Jones is yet another elitist, who will gladly sacrifice her or anyone’s children on the alter of Moloch.
Seeing the pattern yet ?
9/23/26@8am
Tom
Will the critics, lmk who they are.
Any idiot can , understand
The Planet, is practicing strategic delay, to protect trial court.
Why would a victim of the Mis trial court, censor, complainants of Trial court?
Simple answer, they work there….
Cowards and criminals hide there identities.
9/24/26@noon
Tom
Your getting as bad with Timmy as Jon is with Nuciforo.
The Sochol Circus of BitchfieldIn Bitchfield’s grand Sochol Hall,
The ceilings leaked, the standards fell.
The buses groaned with every mile,
Held together by rust and denial.
One bus lost three wheels on Maple Street,
Another shed its doors in the summer heat.
The drivers prayed at every turn,
While warning lights continued to burn.
The students wandered, wild and free,
Skipping class with alarming glee.
Some attended once a week,
Others vanished without a peek.
The hallways echoed with shrieks and screams,
Detached entirely from educational dreams.
Report cards arrived like horror notes,
Floating home on imaginary boats.
Attendance charts looked thin and pale,
Like obituaries pinned by a nail.
The numbers sank through every floor,
Then tunneled straight through the basement door.
Yet high above this splendid mess,
The leaders gathered to do far less.
Mayor Lumpy sat polishing chairs,
Delivering speeches to vacant air.
Each promise waddled into the night,
Never returning to see daylight.
Dumpster Earl, king of decay,
Declared, “Things improve any day.”
Then tripped on paperwork six feet high
And blamed a cloud passing by.
And Wimpy White, forty years untouched by romance,
Spent town meetings lost in a trance.
Studying pigeons, counting stains,
Avoiding solutions with remarkable gains.
The buses crumbled, the truancy soared,
Good behavior was quietly ignored.
The schools limped onward, battered and bruised,
While common sense remained unused.
So Bitchfield marched through another year,
Powered by confusion, neglect, and fear.
Its Sochol Department earned fresh disgrace,
Yet nobody quickened their leisurely pace.
And legends say, when things get worse,
The town leaders gather and rehearse
A sacred creed they all recite:
“Do absolutely nothing, and call it all right.”
Remarkable
Has anyone ever heard Councilor Conant ever speak since he has been on the City Council.. He shows no expression during the whole meeting. Great way to get some extra retirement income and health insurance, thanks to taxpayers.
If some other councilor were to ask a question as to why the taxpayers are being forced to pay for a mega million dollar ballpark they never ask for, you would hear him speak a lot.
A question like “What are the anticipated annual costs to the taxpayers going forward, to maintain the new “ballpark” and who if anyone, will have oversight of such expenses?”
Or, ” with the escalating costs of diesel fuel to run buses and other city vehicles, as well as to heat the schools and dozens of other city buildings, should the city be going forward with a massively expensive feel good project like a baseball stadium while taxpayers are floundering trying to keep up with everything else that is escalating?”
Or, “do you think if the city had a forensic audit right now that the auditors might suggest holding off on spending large sums of money on special interest projects when that money could be much better used for actual necessities?”
GREAT questions, MEAN. You know taxpayers will be ggttingslammed over and over again by this boondoggle.
Actually the independent audit could find as much as a forensic one by now.
Depends on who does it though right? “Independent” has different meanings to different folk.
Sleepy Conant should have been voted off the council years ago. He never has anything to contribute. Totally owned by the GOBs. His daughter was also serving on the Animal Control Commission (last I heard).
Good post Merry.They should eliminate the council insurance both ends. I worked 38 years at Beloit and they didn’t continue my insurance.
Do councilors actually get health insurance??? It’s a nominal part time job.
It is the driving reason most of them sign up. Eliminate it and almost all of those rubber stamper head for the door. This “give back to the community” rhetoric is a widely accepted joke amongst politicians.
Its so ludicrous. No employer gives part time fringe benefits.
Unbelievable, and it’s worse that they indulge it and not use their private plans offered by their real jobs.
Egremont is also out of Control. The department that handles problems with the young felons in training are overwhelmed. There have been over 250 incidences handled mostly by one person. The person has zero help. Recently the brains from Mercer who always dictate to the teachers what to do with most of them having very little actual experience came to “observe”. What they witnessed in one day was disturbing in their own words. They promised to “try and find funding to help the situation. Yeah right.
Right, POT … that’s their solution to everything: More Money. But the more taxpayers throw into that fire, the worse the PSD gets.
Basically you vote for a mayor or city councilor to raise your taxes. Ray Crow has turned over 1000 times I’m sure. Imagine Councilor Cam trying to ask questions about a big expense and is chastised out loud by the City Clerk and Dizzy because he opposes them?
They can hire Obl when Trump shuts down the DEI office. Then he will actually have to work
If they had mega trouble hiring teachers for this current year one can just imagine what it is going to be like next year.
(or next semester)
How about when they made Ms Batory look like a fool
She’s been pretty quiet lately.
The GOBSIG’s got to her. Just like Heather McNiece.
Both were “fighters” on the campaign trail, but that courage evaporated faster than the Lion’s from the Wizard of Oz, did once the bright lights turned upon them.
You have to figure it was either the GOBSIG’s dug up some dirt from her past (Ciara) to quiet her, a promised job (both), and/or the “Flat Tyer Birthday Card,” which comes complete with best wishes from all and a few thousand greenbacks to boot.
I believe it was one or more of the above options.
You don’t go from being loud and public, demanding and seeking answers to the buried Bitchfield Pubic Scohol pedophile report, to all of the sudden quiet as a church mouse without some incentive to play ball with the GOBSIG’s.
Just my .02
You should ask her. She’s very easy to reach.
That’s too bad. Get her back on that horse.
I ass u me that if she keeps her mouth closed and goes along she’ll be re-elected. Ass u Ming she wants to run again. If not they’ll have someone in the wings to replace her next election.
Why is it that the “mothers” who always get the loudest on social media look like walking syphilis infections and potential future nurses?
The Teachers in Red, looked like bitter bitches.
no argument there!
Another stellar example of a former Pittsfield School’s Teacher. His first education job was at Herberg Middle School and he wasn’t wrapped to tight back then!
From MassLive
A Massachusetts public school teacher was arraigned Wednesday after being arrested on charges including possession of child sex abuse material.
Keith Harrison, a 46-year-old Lenox resident, was arraigned in Central Berkshire District Court, according to the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office. He pleaded not guilty and was held on $75,000 bail.
Harrison is an employee in the Chicopee Public Schools system and a former teacher in the Holyoke and Pittsfield school systems
shake my head at how most of Bitchfield’s politicians over the years made everything so complicated on running the show.