I read with interest the Jan. 17 Recorder article, “Schools see steep drop in enrollment,” and was struck by the mayor’s comment, “We should all be concerned about that.”

Although I agree with her sentiment, I am not in agreement with her vision for how to address it.

I am a special education teacher at Greenfield High School and one of the most pressing reasons that families are opting out of our school system (and our city) is that the school system is unable to recruit and retain high quality educators. This is not the fault of the school leaders.

However, the mayor is directly responsible, due to her stonewalling the contract negotiations with the Greenfield Educators Association who have been working without a contract for nearly 600 days. Why would an educator choose to work here?

When families decide to live in a town, the first thing they look at is the school system. It is no wonder they are not choosing Greenfield and those who have settled here are looking to get out.

Yes, “we should all be concerned about that.” Let’s do something about it and give the teachers a fair contract.

Dave Madeloni

Northampton

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