Marc Silver: Big not better, and may be worse

Big not better, and may be worse

Friday’s illogical editorial (“Support Amherst school plan”) extols the “mega-mania” that periodically grips Amherst, as the town too frequently confuses size with quality.

Two of our grandchildren attend a beaten-up, 60-student K-5 school in California that their parents sought out and that would horrify the members of the Amherst School Committee. There is a sense of community about the school — where teachers, kids and parents all know each other — that is wonderful to see. Despite the fact that the facility is far from 21st-century, state-of-the-art, successful education is realized there.

Big is not better, and may be worse. Glitz is nice, but unimportant.

Incidentally, the $32-plus million debt you wish to foist on Amherst (plus interest costs) will buy Wildwood 80 new $400,000 boilers or Fort River 30 new roofs.

Marc Silver

Amherst

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