Letter: Vote Yes to Greylock School Build

To the Editor:

We are in a crucial point where we are in a place to receive a substantial amount of money, $45 million to be exact to go towards the Greylock School Project. Some may walk into Brayton Elementary School and think to themselves this building is fine.

What you don't see is that students are in classrooms with no windows, the number of stairs these students have to walk up and down, the lack of updated technology services, security systems. The HVAC and roof have out lived their life span and will need repairs and upgrades in the immediate future. There are likely other repairs that will need to be addressed if the project does not move forward.

There are only so many Band-Aids that be put on without increasing the community's contribution to the yearly budget. Then let's just talk about the topography. The school is located on a hill with limited access up and down for traffic flow. Playground areas are non-existent. You may say to yourself there is a playground down the hill by Brayton Hill. Well just think about how far a student has to walk to the bathroom if they are playing down there. Needless to say it is far from the school and there is no direct line of sight from the school. This is a safety concern and there is limited resources for oversight of children.

Everyone talks about how the city could use updated emergency services etc. But think about this. The $45 million is from the state only for the MSBA building project. It cannot be used in any other project. If you were a younger person looking to be a firefighter, police officer, DPW worker or other public service job, wouldn't you like to start a family in an area that has a school with a structural design that serves the learning and physical needs of the student?

Let's look at the teacher shortage that is impacting the area. What teacher wants to work in a basement with no windows? If you taught in a preschool program, wouldn't you want bathrooms within your classroom? Some may think these are minor things that don't make a difference. Ask a teacher and see what they say.

I urge you to vote YES to make a difference in our city, youth, and North Adams Public School System.

David Sookey
North Adams, Mass. 

Sookey is a member of the North Adams School Committee and a parent. 

North Adams Voters to Decide Greylock School Project

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
08:45PM / Sunday, October 06, 2024

Mayor Jennifer Macksey at the project forum held at Greylock earlier this summer. She says she feels optimistic about the vote. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Voters will decide the fate of the long-gestating Greylock School project on Tuesday.

 

There is only one question on the ballot, whether to approve a debt exclusion that will allow borrowing for the project outside the limitations of Proposition 2 1/2 for the life of the loan. It is not an override.

 

The City Council approved the spending in July but a ballot vote is required to exclude the debt.

 

A yes vote will move the project forward; a no vote will essentially kill it.

 

Voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Elizabeth's Parish Center.

 

The questions about the project have largely revolved around two issues: the cost to the taxpayer and enrollment. 

 

The School Committee voted last year to reduce from three elementary schools to two in light of the student population declining and to reconfigure the grades in the remaining schools as a better educational option. Colegrove Park would become a Grades 3 to 6 school and the new school a prekindergarten through 2 early education center.