A no vote

Date: 5/4/2010

Those of us advocating for a no vote on the new high school construction want to emphasize that we are not voting no for schools! In fact, it is precisely because we do care about our schools and more importantly our children's education that we feel that voting no is so important.

The $80 million construction project will financially cripple our schools for the next 20 years. Need more teachers? Sorry, there is the high school construction to pay off. Need more computers? Sorry well, you know the answer.

It is not a physical building that plays the key role in the high standards of education that we have come to expect in Longmeadow. It is everything that goes in the building that creates the learning environment that fosters the excellence in our town's education system. The proposed construction project will push our town to the economic brink. We will eliminate our ability to spend money where it really counts for our kids.

A beautiful empty shell of a building does not serve anyone's needs or desires. As communities all around the country are making hard choices in education spending let us not have future generations accuse us of destroying one of the finest school systems in the country with a short-sighted architectural fiasco.

Susan Altman

Longmeadow