Just west of downtown North Adams, a dusty construction site on Phelps Avenue sits between the past and the future. Remains of the old Greylock School, shuttered in 2024, stand over the foundation of its successor. For Mayor Jennifer Macksey, the material step forward also closes the door on the contentious debate about its very existence.
“We -- and when I say we, it's been a community we of school leaders, community members, the design team, the [Massachusetts School Building Authority] -- we've all worked so hard to get to this point," she told WAMC. "So, this is a true testament of when you have a vision, when you have a concept, and it's coming to life. So, today is the first step that we bring the new Greylock School project to life.”
In 2024, North Adams’ proposal to borrow $20 million to unlock $42 million in state funding for the project was met with vocal opposition. The final vote to approve the move came down to around just 130 of the over 2,700 ballots cast.
“My biggest surprise through this process, basically, were the people who thought we were cheating the system, the people who thought there was something on the sly, and through many, many, multiple public records requests, it was just disappointing that they just didn't pick up the phone and ask the questions or participate in many of our community meetings," said the mayor. "I don't know how people can be negative towards children, but again, I don't think people were against moving education forward. I think they were just really concerned about the impact on their taxes.”
Now, with shovels in the ground, Macksey says the city is moving beyond the controversy.
“We're moving forward with all positive and forward momentum to getting the school open in September of 2027,” she said.
Claudine Preiti lives on Hawthorne Avenue, just a short walk to the construction site. Her three kids grew up in the neighborhood, attended the old school, and all had wonderful times – with some notable caveats.
“There were problems back then when my 34-year-old was there!" she told WAMC. "It had leaks, mainly, is what I remember, leaks. Occasionally the kids would be dodging little puddles and stuff like that. But other than that, it was just such a good experience to have them there.”
She’s excited that her grandson – who’s also growing up in the neighborhood – will have the opportunity to attend the new school.
“My kids had a great experience here, and I'm sure he will too," said Preiti. "I couldn't be more happy. And we still live here, and I'm glad my son lives next door. My younger son lives in the neighborhood too.”
North Adams Public Schools Superintendent Tim Callahan said breaking ground on a brand-new building was an “incredibly rare” experience for any school community. The new Greylock Elementary is the first of his almost-30-year career.
“Most of the projects are renovation projects, repair projects, but we found out through the MSBA process and through the study process that constructing a new building was not much more expensive than a renovation because of all the costs with renovation these days and upgrades,” said the superintendent.
Callahan says North Adams investigated renovating some of its older school buildings before opting to build a new one.
“And we realized those were built in a different time with different standards- Like they didn't have sprinkler systems built in. They weren't built with modern safety technology," he said. "So, we realized that we had to make sure it was up to par for today's society, and there was actually some miscommunication and misunderstanding about what that would cost.”
The city found that the repair route was prohibitively expensive given the major deficiencies – especially with a tantalizingly offer from Massachusetts.
“And when we analyzed the cost, it actually became something that couldn't be ignored," said Callahan. "The state was willing to pay essentially $42 million for this project, and how could the taxpayers of North Adams turn down $42 million for a brand-new building for their youngest learners?”
Like Macksey, Callahan’s eyes are now on the future – on the new building that will rise up on Phelps Avenue under the watchful gaze of the majestic Mount Greylock – the state’s tallest peak.
“We're really proud of our citizens of North Adams who stepped up and supported the project," he told WAMC. "And we’re proud of our teachers and our students who will get to work in this amazing building.”
