Oh the irony. Here in Northampton – where the Gazette runs column after column sounding the alarm on climate change, where there are numerous rallies and marches on the issue, where you can find theater and forums raising awareness of this reality — the holder of the most acreage of untaxed property, Smith College, is threading the needle on its $1,800,000,000 endowment’s share of investment in fossil fuels.
Smith expects kudos for recently pledging to reduce that share, but only if it will “generate both financial gain and social or environmental change.” Not either, but both (“Smith shifts investments from fossil fuels,” Oct. 26).
This is why I support Mayor David Narkewicz’s request for Smith College to officially make payments in lieu of taxes. If this well-endowed nonprofit cannot invest more of its sizeable nest egg in a way that reduces the impact of fossil fuels on our world without making a profit, how is it fair that the residents and commercial property taxpayers foot the bill for Smith’s share of city services?
Additional food for thought: Since 2009, Smith’s endowment has grown by over $700 million dollars, while Northampton schools have seen a decade-plus of level funding, stagnant teacher pay and overstretched resource budgets. Not bad for a nonprofit.
Michaela O’Brien
Florence