50 Years in the Making: Amherst Taxpayers Funded a New Elementary School.

Amherst's new Amethyst Brook Elementary opened its doors on Sept. 2, giving the town its first new elementary school in 50 years. Taxpayers voted to raise their own taxes back in May 2023 to help cover the nearly $100 million cost. The state pledged to cover up to $40.5 million of it, leaving Amherst taxpayers responsible for the remaining roughly $57 million through their property tax bills over the life of the bond.

The new building replaces two schools from the 1970s, one of which still had asbestos in its floors. In their place, Amherst now has a modern building with better classrooms, better sightlines for teachers to keep an eye on kids, and safety and accessibility features the old schools never had.

Creating an environment where students can focus and learn is exactly the kind of thing taxpayer dollars should go toward. It took Amherst until 2023 to get a plan across the finish line after an earlier version failed at Town Meeting in 2016. When voters finally said yes, roughly 540 students got to spend their first day of school this week in a brand new building, built on the hard work and dollars of Amherst voters.