It's the "social" network.

Yesterday a Town Councilor posted this on Facebook calling for the replacement of the School Superintendent. 

While I could point out the many problems with his words above, the most glaring to me is that I would expect a Town Councilor to realize that Facebook is not the forum to resolve problems or conduct Town business. 

Unacceptable

I haven't written in a few days, not because I don't have anything to say, but because I have so much swimming around in my head and I'm struggling to find clarity. 

First, I had the opportunity to tour Oyster River High School this week. It's a beautiful school. Not over the top, but well designed and appropriately equipped. The kids were smart and friendly and I can easily see Newmarket kids fitting in well. They had no shortage of technology--smart boards, overhead projectors, computer labs, writing centers, media etc. You get the idea. There was an auditorium, a media center, an art suite. 

I'm not ashamed to say that I walked through the halls and thought to myself, I want my kids to be in an environment like this. 

At a recent School Board meeting, Dr. Hayes talked about the heating problem at the Jr. Sr. High School and he made a comment that I haven't been able to get out of my head. "People have just accepted this."

I don't accept it. 

I don't accept the lack of heat. I don't accept the lack of technology. I don't accept the science classrooms that are half the size they should be. I don't accept that 10 out of 10 of the middle school classrooms don't meet the minimum size requirements. I don't accept that 4 out of 5 of the science labs don't meet state standards. I don't accept that people work in storage areas. I don't accept that there are classrooms without windows.

I admire the many people who have sent their kids through our school system despite the facilities because the quality of the teachers and the education outweighed the flaws in the building. 

But I can't accept that for my kids. 

A woman, a parent of a kindergartner, stood up at the deliberative session and talked about the need to keep families in Newmarket. Her family is thinking about their future. Don't let young families leave. She articulated what many of us are thinking.

Don Jutton, someone I don't find myself quoting often, said at a meeting back in June, "Those who can afford to leave, will." He was talking about the tax rate, but it applies to the school situation also. 

And then people talk about adding new construction along Rt. 108--bringing more rentals and probably more children into this system before we've figured out our solutions. I can't wrap my head around this thinking. 

I came home from the tour on Monday and looked on the Newmarket Solutions website at pictures that were taken of our facility last year. The contrast is stark.

We need a solution. Maybe it's Oyster River, maybe it's a new school of our own. But more importantly, our town needs to make a commitment to all families and all residents here and the future families and the future residents of Newmarket to provide an adequate education for our students and ensure an educated community. 

And to be clear--we can fix the fire and life safety deficiencies, but our building will still be inadequate. 

We shouldn't accept that.

Restraint

On Saturday, our community came together to reinstate the $70,000 that the Budget Committee cut from the school budget.

But something else important happened. Or should I say, didn't happen. As painful as it will be to lose 5.5 positions in our schools, the majority didn't rise up to reinstate them. 

And we could have. 

There's little doubt in my mind that the crowd on Saturday would have approved adding a few positions back. But we didn't.

Time will tell if it was the right decision. 

But for now, I believe that it showed fiscal restraint and an understanding of what we, and I mean that in an "entire community" sense, can handle. 

I believe it showed that we trust our school board to make decisions that are responsible to everyone, even when those decisions are gut-wrenchingly hard. 

Many people thought that the budget committee went too far with their additional recommended cuts and came out on Saturday to say enough is enough. 

Let's continue making responsible decisions for our community. 

"Overwhelmingly"

It's amazing what people can do when they work together.

"Residents overwhelmingly approved returning $70,000 to the school district’s operating budget during the deliberative session on Saturday."--Seacoast Online

This happened because people were there. And we prevented further cuts from the budget because people were there to stop them from happening. 

It could easily have gone the other way.

Town Meeting Survival Guide

Newmarket held our Town Meeting today. Sitting in the bleachers for 6 hours isn't fun, but if this is going to be the norm, I need to make next year more bearable. The following is a list of things I either wish I had or am glad I had.

Snacks: Today's session started at 10am and continued until about 4pm with only about a 20 minute break in between the meetings. I brought a large coffee with me and several snacks (clementines, cheese and crackers and a Kind bar) and a couple bottles of water to get me through the day. Hopefully next year some worthy organization will sell coffee, water and baked goods as both a fundraiser and a public service.

Dress: My advice is to dress comfortably. Last year I wore a skirt and that was just a bad idea all around. Sitting in bleachers with a skirt on just doesn't work. I wore jeans today, but looked at a couple women wearing sweats with envy. Yoga pants and a comfy sweater might be the perfect alternative. I found this on Pinterest and I think this might be my new look for all occasions:

Democracy inspired fashion, anyone?

A Hobby: I'm jealous of all you knitters. I could have used something to keep me busy and stop the non-stop texting. Then again, if we had the internet available, I could have been live blogging (but if that isn't enough to make the BudComm block technology for our schools, I don't know what is.) 

Comfortable Chairs: I'm not really a sports-mom (or sports-anything, for that matter.) But I think I should invest in some kind of stadium seating. Maybe something like this:

Until then, Extra Strength Advil will have to be enough. 

Childcare: We were so lucky to have childcare provided by teachers and staff. It's an incredible relief-both emotional and financial-for many parents and I'm thankful for everyone who worked to make that happen. 

I still need to let it all sink in and then I'll write more about some of the specifics of the meeting in the next couple of days. All in all, it was a good day and I am glad to have been a part of it.