Questioning the treatment.

I hope everyone reading this blog understands that we are not voting on a new school this year. I say that because some people are still under that assumption and I just don't want anyone to show up to the deliberative session and be disappointed. 

However, we WILL be voting on a new $14 million wastewater treatment plant. First, let me just say for the record (again) that I am absolutely in favor of the wastewater treatment plant. I think that it's the right thing to do for our town and for Great Bay.

What I can't quite figure out is why no one is screaming about whether or not we need it or if it's too big or not big enough, or what kind of features it has? Everyone seems to just accept the fact that it is something our community needs in order to continue to be responsible to the town and to the bay. 

So why is it that people don't view the school in the same way? The school is also a VITAL part of our town's infrastructure and will determine what kind of town we will be in the future.

I've heard people talk about EPA mandates. What about DoE mandates?

How come no one has asked if it's the Taj Mahal of wastewater treatment plants?

Our community seems to understand that it is a necessity, even though it will costs residents more. That an out of date, served-its-usefulness, wastewater treatment plant built in 1968 needs to be replaced. 

I wish everyone could understand that both things are integral to community - and our future.

Your participation matters.

This letter to the editor was in today's Exeter Newsletter. Ms. Ferraro explained the importance and process of the deliberative session and I wanted to share parts of it here. (There's no need to reinvent the wheel, right?) 

Once a year we have the opportunity and obligation to come together as a community at annual town and school meetings to participate in listening, discussing, debating, amending and finally voting on important issues that will affect all of us. The first part of the meeting is the deliberative session. The second part is Election Day.

Newmarket's deliberative session will be held this Saturday, February 2nd. For the first time, we are holding the Town and School deliberative sessions on the same day. It will undoubtedly make for a long day, and we'll see how it goes this year. The town portion of the meeting will begin at 10am and the school portion will begin at 1pm.

At the deliberative sessions, all warrant articles, except zoning articles, will be considered. There will be opportunities for explanation, discussion and the amendment of each article and then a vote is taken to either accept the article in its original form or as amended. The subject matter of articles cannot be amended, but dollar amounts can be. The results of the deliberative sessions will then go on the ballot to be voted on Election Day. 

Since the change from the traditional form of Town Meeting to the two-session SB 2 (Senate Bill 2), attendance has dropped off considerably, decreasing from several hundred residents in attendance to less than 75 residents. Low attendance means that a very small number of voters have the power to amend and shape the articles and budget for the remaining 10,000 town voters on Election Day. The deliberative session is essentially the traditional Town Meeting, only minus the same-day-voting, and yet only a handful of voters participate in the shaping of the warrant articles that go on the ballot. 

My challenge to you, neighbors and friends, is to make SB 2 work. Find the time, make the time in your busy schedules to become a well-informed voter and attend the deliberative sessions. Then remember to vote on March 12. Do it for yourself, your children, your families, your neighbors and for our community.

Well said, Ms. Ferraro.

Cuts - Take 3

I don't have a lot to say about last night's budget committee meeting, except this:

Since 2011, the School Board has cut 15.5 positions, including the 5.5 positions proposed in this budget. 

But that's not enough for some members of the budget committee. They recommended an additional $70,000 to be cut from the operating budget.

I'm not sure what else there is to say.

There are no silver bullets.

Some people have assumed that parents in Newmarket aren't interested in tuitioning their kids to Oyster River, but my experience has been quite the opposite. Many parents of younger kids that I've spoken to welcome the opportunity to explore this option. Sure, not everyone is for it. Parents, like any demographic, don't all share the same opinion on this complicated issue. 

There are many things to consider. Here are a couple that come to mind:

1. Expense. I really don't see how it could be less expensive in the long run: We will still maintain grades Pre K-8 in Newmarket, including the operation of two buildings and, at the very least, upgrades to the current Jr. Sr. High School building. Not to mention, the program outlined the other night by Principal Allen of Oyster River High School will not come cheap. As we discuss whether or not to authorize money for technology in our school, they already have it - and that means if we join them, we pay for it just like they do. They're also planning to head toward a 1:1 program (At a recent meeting Judy Ryan, a budget committee member expressed concerned that Newmarket parents can't afford that kind of expense. Guess what? They might not have a choice.) Granted, we won't have to pay for a new High School NOW, but what happens in 10 years or 20 years? What will construction costs be then? We need to consider the LONG TERM - something we as a town don't have a very strong track record of doing successfully. 
2. Control. Are we ready to give control of educating our kids to another town even if they have better test scores? My perception of Oyster River is that they are a forward thinking, high-achieving district. Even so, it's hard to imagine not having a vote on their board. Don't forget, decisions they make will impact our taxes. It's funny to me that some of the same people in our town who want to get the School Board under the thumb of the Town Council with the express purpose of controlling their spending (I'm talking about the Charter Commission) are willing to give that same control willingly to ORSD. 
3. Capacity. What happens if we exceed their capacity? If we partner with Oyster River, there is no doubt in my mind that more people will look to Newmarket as a place to live. A well-regarded High School is really the only thing missing in our town, and personally I think it will make us more desirable than many of our neighbors, including Durham. (I'll welcome the rise in my property value.) But if they tell us that the max number of students they can accept from Newmarket is 300 and we suddenly have 325 or 350, what then? What happens to the 25-50 kids who don't get in?

We need to stop looking for something to magically solve all of our problems. (Remember Hydra, anyone?) Oyster River might be a good option and it may prove to be the best option, but we have to keep asking these questions and we need answers before we can cast an informed vote. 

The decisions we make about our school will impact Newmarket in the short and long term. 

Like it or not, the children really are our future.

Gotta have it.

There's been a lot of talk about needs vs. wants in regard to our schools.  With that in mind, I think it's important to talk about technology. Some people think that those who want better technology are asking for too much. But technology isn't a want. It is a necessity. (I'm talking to you, reading this on your computer, smartphone or tablet. And if you're reading this on an old one, you know how quickly technology changes.) We need to move forward. 

When Dr. Hayes first presented the budget, he remarked that the principals' original request was too high to put in the operating budget and instead split it up, putting part of the request into a separate warrant article. As the process continued, the School Board sought additional input and the decision was made to eliminate that article-so you won't see it on the ballot in March. 

We need to consider what the implications will be for our schools next year. Truthfully, I'm kicking myself for not asking this question at the public hearing. Does it mean another year without moving forward? Can we afford that?

I know that some people hear "30 iPads for our High School" and think that the School Board is asking for the moon. But do we want to let our kids fall further behind? An article in the Exeter Newsletter last week spoke about a request in Stratham for 90 iPads and 100 Chromebooks--for their elementary school. That's one example of what other communities are doing. And before people start yelling at me saying that "we're not Stratham" - that's why we're talking about implementing a 1:1 program at the High School.

We need to start the process and can't delay another year. Things aren't going to get easier with time and nothing is going to get less expensive. We need to start the process now and approve any funds requested by the school board for technology by approving the operating budget.

The 21st century is here. Let's equip our kids to compete in it. 

Tell 'em how you really feel.

Tonight is the public hearing. After, the budget committee will meet again to determine if they think bigger cuts need to be made and I can tell you from watching the furious nodding of some of the committee members last week, I would bet that more cuts are coming. 

This year the enrichment program is being cut, with 5.5 total positions being eliminated. Will it be sports next year? Maybe they'll cut transportation (i.e. bussing. We go above and beyond what's required now.) Maybe it's the number of classroom teachers. So what are you going to do about it?

At the meeting last week, there was discussion about what the taxpayer "gets" from the salary increases associated with the new collective bargaining agreement. Apparently kids "getting" an education isn't enough.

There are certainly members of committees and of the community who I believe are short sighted, if not irresponsible. But isn't it up to the rest of us to show up, take a stand and say "this isn't who we are?" And shouldn't that include parents, teachers and everyone interested in quality education and in our town as a whole? 

The public hearing is tonight at 7pm in the Town Hall auditorium. The Deliberative session will be Saturday February 2nd, with the school portion beginning at 1pm. 

Of course we're all busy. Jobs, kids, sports, friends, family, etc. And talking about teachers' salaries isn't nearly as exciting as talking about buying land for a potential new school. I get that. But people need to be there. A school board member pointed out that for every person who she hears say that they don't trust the School Board, she hears from 10 that support the School Board and their mission. Let's prove her right.

Guns in the House.

I won't pretend to understand why some of our legislators feel the need to be armed on the House floor. The idea that they could potentially protect themselves or others from someone shooting from the gallery seems silly to me. I don't know a lot about guns, but I do know that you don't have to prove that you're a good shot to carry one. I'll have a 4th grader next year who will visit the State House and I would prefer that we leave the protection of him and his classmates to the professionals. (And there already is armed security, by the way, on the House floor.)

Representatives Michael Cahill, Patricia Lovejoy and Marcia Moody all voted to ban guns on the House floor. 
Adam Schroadter voted to allow guns on the House floor. 

Maybe you're for it, maybe you're against it. But at least now you know how your reps voted. 

"They're all lucky they have a job."

Walking into meetings late and then writing about them has gotten me in trouble in the past, but I just have a couple thoughts that I wanted to share after walking into last night's budget committee meeting and catching part of the conversation about the proposed teachers' contract.  

One of the budget committee members asked about how the teachers are evaluated and Dr. Hayes described the process briefly and went on to offer reading material and other resources in case they wanted to look into it further. I suppose you can argue that it's a question of the bottom line--if teachers are getting raises, then it affects the tax rate. But really, should the budget committee be concerned with the teacher evaluation process? 

When talking about teachers' salaries, the same budget committee member was asked if she cared that Newmarket teachers are still paid less on average than our seacoast neighbors. She replied, "No. They're all lucky they have a job."

Meeting expectations.

In case you're just tuning in, here are some of the things we'll be talking about at this year's public hearing on January 14th:

• A new waste water treatment plant which will cost $14.1 million. (Read this article and this editorial for more info.) I have more to say about this, but that's another post.
• Development of the MacIntosh well, which will cost approximately $3 million. (Read a recent article here.)
• A new teachers contract, which will actually reduce the school's operating budget by approximately $37,000 in 2013-2014. (The School Board just approved it last night and you can watch the meeting here if you'd like the details.) 
• Addressing Fire and Life Safety Issues at the Jr. Sr. High School.

Town Meeting this year will be addressing many of our town's most pressing issues-water, waste water and school facilities.

Of course, a new school won't be on the warrant but it will certainly factor into the discussion. The question remains: do we fix the fire and life safety issues at the current school with a total price tag of about $2 million? For most people the answer depends on whether or not you think we should be building a new school and that's bound to come up in the discussion.

Water isn't the most exciting topic to discuss, but developing the MacIntosh well is important to the health of our community. (I wrote about it here back in May.) And upgrading the waste water treatment plant is an infrastructure issue that we need to deal with because of the EPA mandate and the health of Great Bay.

We will also discuss the teacher's contract, and I can tell you from past experience that it can be painful to sit through. Some of the comments that community members (and budget committee members) make about teachers are unnecessarily inflammatory and not grounded in reality. This is where that saying, "you can be a part of the problem or a part of the solution" comes in. 

The public hearing on January 14th is the first opportunity for the community to voice concerns, ask questions and show support. See you then.

The Deliberative Session

Back in November, both the School Board and the Town Council submitted their budgets to the Budget Committee. Over the past several weeks, the Budget Committee has been reviewing the budgets and asking questions of the administrators--either Steve Fournier, the Town Administrator or Jim Hayes, the Superintendent. 

On January 7th and 8th, (YES, that's tonight and tomorrow) the Budget Committee will conduct their final meetings with both the Town and the School, respectively. This is their chance to get answers to the questions that they asked during the other sessions and to go over the warrant articles. 

The next step is the public hearing which will be held on January 14th, so mark your calendars. This is the first time the public gets to ask questions or voice their concerns about the budgets and/or warrant articles. At some point after this meeting, the budget committee will vote on whether or not to recommend the budgets and warrant articles to the public. 

And that brings us to the Deliberative Session. Newmarket is an SB2 town and so our vote happens in two stages. I found this explanation on Wikipedia:

Under SB 2, a first session, called a "Deliberative Session", is held about a month prior to the town election. This session is similar in many ways to the traditional town meeting. However, unlike the town meeting, while the wording and dollar amounts of proposed ballot measures may be amended, no actual voting on the merits of the proposals takes place. The second session, held on a set election day, is when issues such as the town's budget and other measures, known as warrant articles, are voted upon.

This year the DS will be held on Saturday, February 2nd. This is kind of a big deal for our town--a lot of work went into having the Town and the School deliberate on the same day. My understanding of the reasoning for this is so that the community can get a full financial picture. (Or in other words, how can we possibly consider proposing a new school when we will be voting for a new waste water treatment plant?)

This is what I hope people understand---the deliberative session is more than just another town meeting. It is a vote. And it's not just a matter of ratifying what the budget committee has recommended. The people in the room can drastically change the outcome of our March vote. Here's how: 

Any person can get up and make a motion to change the dollar amount of any warrant article. That motion, if supported, then goes to a vote by a show of hands. That means that someone could make a motion to change the dollar amount of a warrant article to $0 and if that goes to a vote, and there aren't enough people in the room to vote against it, the article is, essentially, GONE. 

The system may seem a little cumbersome to some people, but this is each resident's opportunity to have a voice and a direct impact. 

Your vote matters. 

Happy New Year

Now that the holidays are behind us, we can all start to turn our attention to Town Meeting. A lot has happened in the budget process already and there are some important meetings next week--the public hearings will be held on January 7th and 8th.

(Edited---the meetings on January 7th & 8th are the final budget meetings, not the public hearing. The public hearing will be held on January 14th. Sorry for any confusion!)

There's a lot to explain about the process (and honestly, I don't understand it all) so I thought I'd break it down a bit over the next week or two. 

Let me start with our elected bodies. We have 3 main elected bodies: the Town Council, the School Board and the Budget Committee. 

In a nutshell, the Town oversees all the town stuff--roads, police, fire, water, etc. And the School oversees the education of students in grades K-12. The Town Council doesn't tell the School Board what to do or vice versa (although many people would like to see that changed, but that's another post.) 

The third elected body is the Budget Committee. The Budget Committee's purpose is to "assist the voters in the prudent appropriation of public funds." According to the LGC's (Local Government Center) FAQ on their website, "while the budget committee has the duty to review current expenditures, it is primarily for the purpose of preparing future budgets, rather than to challenge or dispute what the governing body is doing. No one has legal authority to challenge the discretion of the governing body in making transfers among purposes of appropriation." Interesting. The Budget Committee feels like it has a bigger purpose and I'm not sure if that's in their heads or mine. At some point when I have the time, I'll look through the RSA's and try to make sense of of it. 

Until I find that extra time, I'll leave you with the one thing that I'm sure of: the voters make the final decision. Clearly, the vote in March is important. That's where the final decisions get made when we all fill out our ballots. But, a lot happens prior to that vote and there are meetings that everyone should attend. 

The bulk of what we vote on has to do with money. The voters will decide the budgets for the following year for both the town and the school. Maybe you don't think it matters to you. But this isn't just about water, roads and schools. We get the privilege of deciding what kind of town we want to live in through Town Meeting every year. 

And that should matter to everyone.