Index to Public Comments

This is an index to public comments, written comments to the School Committee or Administration, and letters to the editor, with links where possible to full-text of comments.  Until individually linked, see:

• Written public comment available https://saveamherstssmallschools.wordpress.com/public-comment/ (a small set of full-length letters and analyses) and https://wildwoodpgo.com/feedback-on-grade-reconfiguration/ (a much larger set of postcards, online comments, and many other comments).
• Links to public forums, with video.  Unfortunately, the School Building Committee meetings are not videotaped and no minutes are available.
• Links to published op-eds.
• Links to the parent and teacher comments in the January survey.  There are many detailed and thoughtful comments in these anonymous surveys.

 

INDEX TO COMMENTS

We are developing an index to the many, many comments submitted by concerned parents, staff, and community members.

• ANONYMOUS.  Numerous anonymous commenters on surveys, postcards, and elsewhere.
• Anonymous as “Publius”. Satirical memo circulated October 2015: The South Pleasant Street Pothole Repair Project. (also in PDF)
• Adams, Garrett. Letter to the editor (2015/11/03).
• Alciere, Simon Peter. Letter to the editor (2015/11/02).
• Alvarez, Alex. Written comment to School Committee.
• Alvarez, Janet. Written comment to School Committee.
• Aquino, Evelin. Written comment to School Committee.
• Bagdasarov, Arsen. Written comment to School Committee.
• Baker, Erin. Written comment to School Committee. Concerned about multiple transitions
• Ben-Ur, Aviva. Written comment to School Committee.
• Berry, Lisa. Written comment to School Committee.
• Bonifaz, Lissa Pierce. Written comment to School Committee.
• Boutilier, Emily.
  • Written comment to School Committee, Oct. 28, 2015.
  • Letter to the editor.
• Broudy, Oliver.
  • Primer for Parents.
  • Written comment to School Committee.
  • Public comment.
  • Op-Ed:  “Amherst schools should reject elementary ‘mega-school’ plan“, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Oct. 20, 2015.
• Broudy, Rachel. “Don’t Sacrifice Our Communities”, Amherst Bulletin, July 15, 2016
• Brown, Casey. Written comment to School Committee.
• Byl, E Ankje. Written comment to School Committee.
• Cain, Lisa.
  • Written comment to School Committee.
  • Op-ed: “Too Much Haste Involved in School Changes” (letter to the editor), Amherst Bulletin, Oct. 29, 2015.
  • Marla Goldberg-Jamate, Irene Dujovne, Amy Finlay, Lisa Cain, “Amherst Should Keep Small K6 Schools”, Amherst Bulletin / Daily Hampshire Gazette, June 24, 2016 (link to original)
• Catt, Jennifer. Written comment to School Committee.
• Coler, Shannon. Written comment to School Committee.
• Connor, Kiana. Public comment at School Committee meeting, Jan 19, 2016.
• Corson, Catherine.
  • Written comment to School Committee.
  • Public comment.
  • Op-Ed: “Key community meeting on tap for future of Amherst schools”, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Jan. 8, 2016.
• Cunningham, Toni. Written comment to School Committee.
• Davies, Leticia. Written comment to School Committee.
• Douangmany, Vira. School Committee vote.
• Dujovne, Irene.
  • Written comment to School Committee.
  • Marla Goldberg-Jamate, Irene Dujovne, Amy Finlay, Lisa Cain, “Amherst Should Keep Small K6 Schools”, Amherst Bulletin / Daily Hampshire Gazette, June 24, 2016 (link to original)
• Eagleson, Beth. Written comment to School Committee.
• Eddy, Sara. Written comment to School Committee.
• Finlay, Amy.
  • Marla Goldberg-Jamate, Irene Dujovne, Amy Finlay, Lisa Cain, “Amherst Should Keep Small K6 Schools”, Amherst Bulletin / Daily Hampshire Gazette, June 24, 2016 (link to original)
• Frasier, Stephen. Written comment to School Committee.
• Gardner, Matt. Written comment to School Committee.
• Giessen, A. van. Written comment to School Committee.
• Goldberg-Jamate, Marla.
  • Written statement to School Committee, June 21, 2016. (Please reconsider the more popular and better K-6 configuration.)
  • Radio interview, June 10, Bill Newman Show.
  • Marla Goldberg-Jamate, Irene Dujovne, Amy Finlay, Lisa Cain, “Amherst Should Keep Small K6 Schools”, Amherst Bulletin / Daily Hampshire Gazette, June 24, 2016 (link to original)
  • Letter to School Committee, School Building Committee, & Select Board, Aug. 9, 2016. – Given the immediate departure of the Superintendent, and the deep unpopularity of this project, the project should be delayed 18 months to allow a new Superintendent to come in and reassess the issue.
• Gonzalez, Idelis. Written comment to School Committee.
• HawkOwl, Julie.
  • Written comment to School Committee, Nov. 3, 2015.
  • Public Statement.
• Jayne, Sibyl. Written comment to School Committee.
• Jones, Sheilah P. Written comment to School Committee.
• Kelly, Sue. Written comment to School Committee.
• Khawaja, Muhammad Naeem. Written comment to School Committee.
• Klooster, ____. Written comment to School Committee.
• Knyt, Erinn. Written comment to School Committee.
• Kogan, Anna. Written comment to School Committee.
• Kopicki, Maria.
  • Written comment to School Committee.
  • Public comment Oct. 26 forum.
  • Op-ed: “No Reason to Rush on Amherst’s Elementary School Reconfiguration”, Amherst Bulletin, Oct. 29, 2015. 
  • Options: Comparative Chart, Jan. 3, 2016.
  • Op-Ed: Caught in a school project Catch-22 in Amherst, Amherst Bulletin, Jan. 13, 2016.
  • Public comment at School Building Committee, Feb. 2, 2016
  • Article 28, introduced at Town Meeting to encourage additional cost assessment of proposed reconfiguration option, and renovation.
  • Radio interview, June 10, Bill Newman Show.
• Kowaleski, John. Written comment to School Committee.
• Lee, Minwoo. Written comment to School Committee.
• Lo, Chia-Yu. Written comment to School Committee.
• Lo, Kuei. Written comment to School Committee.
• Loeung, Sovann-Malis. Public comment at School Committee meeting, Jan 19, 2016.
• Lucien, Len.  Public comment at public forums, various.
• Lynn, Joe. Written comment to School Committee.
• Mankita, Jay. Written comment to School Committee.
• Markstein, Michele. Written comment to School Committee, Oct. 18, 2015.
• Martinez, Caridad. Public comment at School Committee meeting, Jan 19, 2016.
• Martini, Anna. Written comment to School Committee.
• Mayfield, Jacob. Parent of preschooler and kindergartener.
  • Op-ed: “Massaging Numbers Rather Than Solving Problems in Amherst Schools”, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Jan. 26, 2016.  
  • Letter to MSBA, May 16, 2016.
• McGowan, Janet. Parent (Fort River, Middle School, High School) & Town Meeting member.
  • Written comment to School Committee, Jan. 18, 2016.
  • Yes on Article 38, circulated May 25, 2016.
• Medina, Andy. Written comment to School Committee.
• Mednicoff, David. Written comment to School Committee.
• Mendelsohn, Jen. Written comment to School Committee.
• Misra, Joya. Written comment to School Committee.
• Montgomery, Kay. Written comment to School Committee.
• Morse, Joanne.
  • Written comment to School Committee.
  • Op-ed:  “Amherst’s existing small elementary schools serve a purpose”, Amherst Bulletin, Jan 6, 2016.
• Nunez-Ortiz, Victor. Written comment to School Committee.
• Oldham, Jim.
  • Op-ed: “On school issues in Amherst, too much change, too little consultation“, Amherst Bulletin, Nov 19, 2015.
  • Op-ed: “School proposals in Amherst need closer vetting”, Amherst Bulletin, Dec 16, 2015.
• Pratt, Courtney. Written comment to School Committee.
• Prokopovych, B. Written comment to School Committee.
• Prokopovych, Ina. Written comment to School Committee.
• Publius (anonymous). Satirical memo circulated: The South Pleasant Street Pothole Repair Project.
• Raine, Lisa. Written comment to School Committee.
• Raine, Simon. Written comment to School Committee.
• Robertson, Meg. Written comment to School Committee.
• Royal, Kristine. Architect and parent.  
  • Written comment to School Committee.
• Quilter, Laura.
  • Written comment to School Committee.
  • Public comment.
• Schmidt, David. Written comment to School Committee.
• Schwell, Ariella. Written comment to the MSBA (2016/02/15).
• Sharma, Mary Crotty.  Educator experienced with proposed configuration, and critical of reconfiguration proposal — least popular and most expensive option, and most importantly, presents equity issues.
  • Letter to the editor (2016/01/06)
  • Letter to the School Committee (2016/01/15).  (HTML, PDF)
• Shenoy, Prashant. Written comment to School Committee.
• Sherman, Woody.  Public forum.
• Sirard, Christine. Written comment to School Committee.
• Solak, Senay. Written comment to School Committee.
• Summers, Eliza. Written comment to School Committee.
• Templeton, Ariel. Written comment to School Committee, Oct. 6, 2015.
• Tremblay, Kim. Written comment to School Committee.
• Vernon-Jones, Russ.  Former School Principal; critical of reconfiguration and large schools.
  • Written comment to School Committee, Jan. 19, 2016.
• Vigeland, Carl.
  • Op-Ed: “It’s About the Teachers, Not the Buildings”, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Jan. 25, 2016 (link to original)
• Vogel, Eve.
  • Written comment to School Committee.
  • Written comment to School Committee.
  • Written comment to School Committee.
  • Points Forgotten or Too Narrowly Addressed – long version (PDF)
  • Points Forgotten or Too Narrowly Addressed – 1 page version (PDF)
  • Trade-Offs in School Reorganization. (PDF)
  • Transportation and Equity Analysis (PDF).
  • Op-ed: “Let’s not lose neighborhood elementary schools in Amherst”, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Jan. 14, 2016.
• Walker, Carolyn. Written comment to School Committee.
• Wentworth, Mary. “I think that an objective observer who knew that three committee members came to last Thursday’s meeting prepared to vote certainly indicates that these comment sessions more or less are a sham,” — Mary Wentworth — Dave Eisenstadter, Jan. 21, 2016, Daily Hampshire Gazette – http://www.gazettenet.com/Archives/2016/01/AMSCHOOLVOTE-HG-012016
• Wise, Kurt.
  • Written comment to School Committee.
  • Public comment.
  • Op-Ed:  “Amherst schools should reject elementary ‘mega-school’ plan“, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Oct. 20, 2015.
  • Mega-School with Mega-Problems, version 1 (May 2016)
• Yi, Minju. Written comment to School Committee.