The Pittsfield school system is preparing for a worst-case scenario.

Superintendent Jason McCandless told the School Committee this week the district could lay off as many as 140 employees for the upcoming school year.

“Please understand that we have no intent of actually enacting on all of those. Those are to protect the district, to protect the city against the very, very worst-case scenario," McCandless said.

Pittsfield relies on Chapter 70 funding from the state of Massachusetts for more than 60 percent of its school budget, and the city doesn't know how much funding it'll receive because of the coronavirus pandemic.

McCandless hopes the state will not cut funding to more needy districts, like Pittsfield.

“A 10 percent cut to Chapter 70, in a community that depends on Chapter 70 for 11 or 12 percent of its budget, is a much different thing to consider than a 10 percent cut to Chapter 70 for a community like Pittsfield," McCandless said.

It’s also uncertain how schools will be operating in the fall. McCandless says they’re preparing for several possibilities, but the most likely option is a hybrid of remote and in-person learning.

“It will not look like school usually looks," McCandless said. "It may be on some form of a day-on, day-off for students, a week-on, week-off for students."

McCandless says they’re trying to remain flexible and they want to give Chromebooks to every student in the district by the end of august.

“We want our families to be prepared for moving to remote almost overnight as we did earlier this spring," he said.