Copyright berkshireeagle
To the editor: I have seen little dissent for the upcoming vote to finance a new Monument Mountain High School. As a Great Barrington homeowner, I am a no. My remarks apply only to my town. First, the design plans are impressive. And were this Cambridge or Wellesley or even Lenox, this could be an appropriate build. But here, the cost is prohibitive for many. The proposal is not slightly above the Proposition 2 1/2 limits. It blows the lid off. For us low- to middle-income homeowners, it may be the inflection point at which we can no longer afford our homes. As we deal with soaring health insurance and expiring SNAP and other benefits, the timing of the vote is particularly tone deaf. Second, public school enrollments in our area continue to decline. The underlying demographic factors will not change in several lifetimes, no matter how fast we build. As we are told that the school has reached the end of its life, we would be wise to consolidate with other schools. For example, consider sending Great Barrington to Southern Berkshire, Stockbridge to Lee, and West Stockbridge to Lenox. Explore use of the Bard campus. Do something other than breaking the backs of homeowners. Third, this prodigious increase does not exist in a vacuum. What happens when the proposed amount turns out not to be enough? And we still have toxic waste under the post office, lead in the water of many, and god knows what taxpayer expense ultimately to fix Housatonic's water woes. More money all around. Next, any rational voter must evaluate this proposal against his own experience with town services. For my family, that experience is poor. On my street zoned high density residential, a trash dump is allowed to exist within 30 feet of the river. None of my emails or calls to town staff is returned. I notice a two-tiered approach in how infrastructure gets repaired. First, to anything on "the Hill" and south or west of downtown Then, to anything else. Finally, vote by mail should be an automatic option for this important issue. Those less likely to be available in person between this hour and that hour are also those who will suffer most when the vote passes. Edward Bryan Rawls, Great Barrington
