Send Your Letters to Elected Officials

Several people have begun writing and calling local and state elected officials. A number of people have asked us to give them the contact information (see earlier posts). Other people have asked us what to write. While we don't feel that there's any ONE letter to write, here's two examples of letters from Megan. The first is to the Mayor and the second is to the Governor. Please don't copy it. Think about the issues you care deeply about, think about your kids and their future education and write from that perspective. Most importantly, make your argument clearly and concisely and make it your own.

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Dear Mayor Higgins,

I am writing, as are so many of my fellow parents, to implore you to help us find a way to avoid closing one of Northampton’s elementary schools.

To begin, the practical: You are quite aware that Northampton attracts many new residents every year. We came here from Minnesota, and we joke that it is really a refugee camp for Midwesterners and New Yorkers. We have all moved here for the tolerant community, the beautiful environment, the arts, the farms, the intellectual community, and of course, the superlative public schools. If we lose an elementary school, as well as other essential school services, the ability of Northampton to attract young families from out of state will be severely compromised.

Secondly, I understand that if we close a school it will likely be prohibitively expensive to re-open it if the need arises. In my more optimistic moments, I feel that the smart, engaged parents of Northampton will be able to effect some significant changes in the way the cities and schools are funded, and that the next year or two, the financial situation will get better. I hope we can keep all four schools open at least a year to see if this is true. In my more pessimistic moments, I look to a future when gas is so expensive that it becomes impractical for residents to live on the outskirts of towns and we all move to the denser areas. What if we have closed Bridge Street, our only school in walking distance to downtown?

Now, the emotional, the love letter to my children’s school: We purchased our house because of its proximity to Bridge Street School. My eldest was only 9 months old at the time, but we were so excited that he would attend the school one day. We were right to be so optimistic. We love this school. It is a remarkable community that provides them (now in fourth
grade and kindergarten) an excellent education. They are supported, challenged, and nurtured, and the education is as good as that of any private school. Johanna McKenna and the teachers know our children and understand how they learn best. It is also an extremely positive place, where the teachers and staff truly work as a team and have an incredible dedication to the children. When I come to the school now and realize that my youngest son may not have the opportunity to learn with Patty Dubiel, Sue Hanno, Jan Battey, or Jed Dion, it brings me to tears. When I think about the fact that my older son may have to spend fifth grade in a new school without his closest friends, it breaks my heart.

I have great admiration for the work you do as mayor and for your love of Northampton, and I know you will do your best in this awful situation. But please do what you can to save our school.

Sincerely,


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Governor Deval Patrick
State House, Rm. 360
Boston, MA 02133

Dear Governor Patrick,

During the same week that you announced the appointment of Paul Reville as the new Chairman of the Board of Education, the superintendent of Northampton’s schools announced a budget deficit of more than one million dollars. It is quite likely that to close the budget gap, the school committee will decide to close one of the city’s four elementary schools. This is only one step they will need to take. They will also eliminate transportation to the high school and significantly reduce transportation to the elementary schools, reduce art, music and physical education, and eliminate after school programs (the precursor to an extended day for city schools).

The school likely to close is Bridge Street School, the one to which we send our sons. In short, we love this school. It is a remarkable community that provides our fourth-grader and kindergartener an excellent education. They are supported, challenged, and nurtured, and the education is as good as that of any private school. It is also the only school in walking-distance to downtown Northampton. And now it seems clear that this will all slip away.

Northampton attracts new residents to Massachusetts every year. We came here from Minnesota, and we joke that it is really a refugee camp for Midwesterners and New Yorkers. We have all moved here for the tolerant community, the beautiful environment, the arts, the farms, the intellectual community, and of course, the superlative public schools. If we lose an elementary school, as well as other essential school services, the ability of Northampton to attract young families from out of state will be severely compromised. In addition, this is only the beginning. Next year will the situation will likely be as dire.

What can we do to reverse this horrible situation? We must find ways to increase state aid to the cities of Massachusetts. The legislature should pass the meals tax, allowing the city to build revenue from the thousands of people who come to Northampton for its restaurants every month. You can work to close corporate tax loopholes, to keep the Commonwealth from bleeding money. You can help us change the formula for Chapter 70 funding that cheats our schools of essential funds. You could help pay for mandated bussing. You can pressure Smith College to further support the city. (Smith is the largest landholder in Northampton, but pays no property taxes and sits on an endowment of $1.2 billion, the seventh largest in the country).

During Reville’s press conference he asserted that if we want to give Massachusetts’ children “a world-class education, the kind of education that we'd want to give our own children, then we're going to have to spend more money over time.” In support of Reville, Patricia Plummer, Commissioner of the Department of Higher Education said, “We need to ensure that all Massachusetts students are not only ready for college when they arrive, but prepared to succeed and complete degrees.” If we continue to cut and cut and cut our school budgets these dreams will be dead in the water.

Sincerely,