To The Editor:
As a taxpayer, parent and educator, I’m going to vote in support of the Monument Mountain Regional High School Renovation. I urge others to do the same.
Our high school is nearly fifty years old and it’s showing its age. We need to upgrade safety, access, energy efficiency and classroom spaces. As the project is currently configured, the State, through the MSBA, is contributing nearly half of the costs up to $23.6 million dollars.
As a parent, I’d like my kids to have facilities that match the current caliber of the teaching and learning at Monument. Our labs, vocational spaces and classrooms are remarkably outdated in comparison to classrooms around the State. That’s why the MSBA has agreed to support our project. They only fund about 7 percent of applicants annually. We need spaces that support 21st Century Learning including more hands-on work, interdisciplinary connections and integrated technology.
As an educator, I’d like to support other educators and students in being successful. That means removing obstacles that impair opportunities for growth and creating conditions that support learning. Improved lighting, school climate and facilities will support improved achievement and growth.
I have heard in hundreds of conversations that many people are supportive of education and many people are concerned about taxes. I am too. Doing the project as presented addresses the school’s inadequacies in systematic and deliberate ways that actually will cost us less than doing it piecemeal. It gives us a wonderful space for learning for the next fifty years.
Once again, I urge voters to support the renovation at Monument. Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you have questions. Peter.Dillon@bhrsd.org
If you haven’t visited Monument in a while, I urge you to do so before the vote. Take a fresh look at our almost 50 year old building – there are tours on Saturday, November 1 at 9 a.m..
Peter Dillon
Great Barrington
The writer is the Superintendent of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District.
