Letter: Bond Will Be a Reliable Community Leader

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To the Editor:

When looking toward the future of this great city, it is important not to neglect the voices of the younger generations. It is also important not to underscore the value community service has in shaping a candidate. Coming from an MCLA student and soon to be officeholder, I believe the person to best connect with our youth and represent the value of community service is Lynette Bond.

The most important memories I've made as a college student were through active volunteerism. As a person who dedicates my time in such a way, I can see how volunteer work has influenced Lynette Bond as a person, and how it will shape her tenure as the next mayor of North Adams. Through her dedication as a foster parent, her time in the Peace Corps, and her intense dedication toward the Colegrove Park Elementary School project, she has proven to me that she will be a reliable community leader.

I have been able to call North Adams my home for 22 years. MCLA was my school of choice because of this beautiful city I have been able to call my home. I think the school is especially emblematic of our community's younger demographics, and it makes me pleased to see who younger people want as their leader. The feedback we have received from the overwhelming majority of them? The future is with Lynette.

With students who want to make North Adams their home after they graduate, and have taken on our community as one that represents them, Lynette is an especially symbolic person to take office as our next mayor. Lynette may not have been born in North Adams, but she chose our city as her home like so many others here do. I am confident in Lynette's experience, transparency, and communicative nature to lead our city for the next two years. I hope with all this information in mind, you will vote for her assuredly on Nov. 2.

Joshua Vallieres
North Adams, Mass.

Joshua Vallieres is a candidate for North Adams School Committee. 

 

 

 

 


Tags: city election,   election 2021,   letters to the editor,   


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North Adams School, Finance Committee Endorse $22M School Budget

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Finance Committee on Wednesday recommended a fiscal 2027 spending plan of $22 million that had been approved by the School Committee on Tuesday. 
 
The spending plan of $22,393,775 is an increase of $757,554 over this year, or 3.5 percent. It will be funded through the Chapter 70 state education grant estimated at $16,796,682 (based on the governor's budget); school-choice funds of $1,446,419, up $506,411; and local funding of $4,150,673 (also based on the governor's budget), up $161,942 or 4.06 percent.
 
Based on new numbers from the House and Senate, the city's portion could drop to $4,049, 353.
 
"A lot of our advocacy this year is around Chapter 70 and the various funding formulas," said Superintendent Timothy Callahan during the public hearing preceding the committee meeting. "We as a School Committee, but certainly I as an individual and other members of the administrative team, have participated in various sessions to advocate for more funding from Chapter 70, a massive part of our district budget."
 
Chapter 70 is critical to the school budget, with nearly 80 percent of its funding coming through the state. 
 
Business Manager Nancy Rauscher explained to the Finance Committee that the schools have "hugely benefited from that over the last few years, with significant increases" based on the district's needs and community profile.
 
"This is the first year that we've been considered a minimum aid district," she said. "What that means is you're held harmless. You're still getting what you were given ... but the addition is just a minimum eight addition. This year, it's $75, per student. So it literally is 75 times the number of students, and at that time it was 1,192 students, when they did this."
 
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