To the editor:
I attended the budget meeting in order to find out why the board is needlessly spending our taxes on “nice to have items”.
The board members will not say why they choose to utilize only half of the capacity of the high school while investing $75,000 in a building (Pine Street) for a roof. This is a building that the board recommended be demolished last year. The board has also proposed spending $475,000 for artificial turf at Skyway, claiming that it is cheaper than paying someone to maintain a natural field.
The board brought in a part time superintendent to fill in while they search for a full time superintendent paying him over $30,000, my question is why is the assistant superintendent not filling in? Is that not the definition of the position? When I spoke with the board chair (Lucy Richards) about this, she stated the assistant lacked the experience needed. I have spoken with the assistant superintendent and have found him to be very intelligent and knowledgeable of the school system. He has served in that position for a number of years and was providing part time superintendent duties in Washburn; surely, he could fill in for six months and save us that money.
This board could easily save the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars by doing the right thing and right sizing our school system to utilize our existing buildings to their fullest, but this is not what they are doing. They choose to invest money in old outdated buildings while paying to heat and maintain other half-empty buildings.
The only way to get our school taxes under control is to replace all board members up for re-election this year. In order to get your name on the ballot in November you must get signatures from within your district in June. Please check with your town office for more details to get involved.
Dave Gardiner
Chapman
