To the Editor:

With all the drama around the November elections, politics can become overwhelming for some of us, and it can be easy to tune out anything associated with the word "vote." But on Oct. 8, North Adams residents have a unique opportunity to directly, and positively, impact the city's future generations.

It's no secret North Adams' schools are in need of renovations. Adding to that, it's self-evident that schools with poor infrastructure aren't as encouraging of better performing students and better test results. Declining to give the city's children an improved school would be equal to denying them a healthier, safer environment to learn. Without all of the small things being the best they can be, which is what a new school promises, the overall education of North Adams' children will, no doubt, lag behind other regional school systems.

In North Adams, we often hear talk of a population decline. Approving a new school won't magically stop that inevitable decline, but it will attract new families to the city, and with them, more taxpayers. Furthermore, investing in a new school, rightly assuming that it will produce better education performance, will lead to more educated students, setting our children on an early path toward success. Ten, 15 years down the road, those same students will see North Adams as a more attractive option for their college education, and for their future place of residence. A minute increase in the local tax, when factoring in the possibilities for North Adams' future, is a difficult argument to make for voting against the building of "New Greylock."

The vote on Oct. 8 should be a no-brainer. Parents of the city must be bold for their children, making plans to vote that Tuesday in favor of a mostly-state-funded project that will benefit this generation of children, as well as the next, and the one after that.

For North Adams residents without kids of their own, voting "yes" for "New Greylock" is an investment in their future, as well. Attracting new families to our school system and doing the necessary work to improve the city's quality of life will trigger a virtuous cycle, with future graduates looking to reinvest their knowledge and skills into North Adams and boosting the local economy, and then that, in turn, creating an even better quality of life for all of the city's residents. It would be a failure of duty to live here and not go out and vote for a new school.

Shon Loftus
North Adams, Mass.

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