Please check the Town of Northwood website:
www.northwoodnh.org for the most up to date information on the
proposed town and school budgets recommended by the Northwood Budget
Committee.
Northwood’s World Day of Prayer 2011
This year’s service will be
held on March 4 at 1 p.m. at the Northwood Advent Christian Church,
Route 107/113 School Street. This event is being sponsored by
the Women’s Mission Group. (The snow date is Friday, March 11, at 1
p.m. at the same place.)
Women, men and children in more than 170
countries and regions will celebrate World Day of Prayer, Friday,
March 4, 2011 The women of Chile have written the service around the
theme How many loaves have you? They ask us to enter a process
that draws us into the Bible, into the context of Chile and into the
real situations of our lives and communities. Together, we are
asked to respond to what we have and how we can share it with
others. In this past year, Chile has been challenged by a
devastating earthquake and the collapse of a mine in which many
miners were trapped. Again we are reminded to share our bread
and to receive the bread that is shared with us. On March 4,
2011, let us reach out our hands and hearts to touch the lives of
sisters and brothers in Chile and around the world.
Who Was
Aldo Leopold?
Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) is considered the father
of wildlife ecology. He was a renowned scientist and scholar,
exceptional teacher, philosopher, and gifted writer. It is for his
book, A Sand County Almanac, that Leopold is best known by millions
of people around the globe. The Almanac, often acclaimed as the
century’s literary landmark in conservation, melds exceptional
poetic prose with keen observations of the natural world. The
Almanac reflects an evolution of a lifetime of love, observation,
and thought. It led to a philosophy that has guided many to
discovering what it means to live in harmony with the land and with
one another.
On April 1,2 NALMC, Bear-Paw and Friends of NMSP
will sponsor a Leopold Weekend in Northwood. Details to follow.
Letter
Dear Northwood Voters: The School Board and Teacher’s Association
have spoken out regarding the Budget Committee’s approved budget,
but I believe it’s time to hear a different viewpoint.
A few
facts: The School Board proposed a budget of $12,749,661 for
2011-2012, which was an increase of $401,769 over the budget
approved at last year’s meeting for 2010-2011. Unfortunately, the
figure they used, $12,347,892, included the total of three warrant
articles approved at that meeting. This amount, $175,172,076, had to
be removed to arrive at a true Operating Budget figure for 2010-2011
of $12,172,076.
As many of you know, I’m a Budget Committee
member, but I’m speaking only for myself, not for the committee.
Others can speak if they choose. The School Board provided 90% of
our information two weeks prior to our public meeting, for which I
thank them, as I had sufficient time to review the information. I
listened to members of the public ask questions, and I listened to
their comments. No one spoke in favor of the proposed budget, but
instead spoke of not being able to afford any increase in their
taxes. Several told of being on fixed incomes with no increase in
sight, so where would the additional tax money come from?
I
seconded the motion to LEVEL FUND the school budget. This means
giving them the same amount this year as we approved last year. The
motion passed. We later discovered the $175,816 error and corrected
the final figure. We did not CUT the budget as has been reported, we
just did not approve the large increase over last year that was
requested.
We’ve all had to make do with the same or less money,
why shouldn’t the school? Most towns in NH have cut budgets, we
proposed LEVEL FUNDED. No more , no less.
Ginger Dole
Letter
To The Editor
The Northwood School Board is pulling out all stops
to get their pork barrel budget passed. I hear that flyers, letters,
and phone calls are all in the mix added to the children sent home
with stories of huge teacher layoffs. Poppycock! And the NEA along
with the Northwood Teachers Association has something going out too.
Your money, my money and even their union dues all going out so that
you will be scared into continuing to support our Northwood
tradition of accepting and rewarding a very poor performance, one
below our means and our abilities.
Of 5 schools, Northwood,
Strafford, Nottingham, Deerfield and Candia we are dead last in
proficiency in all tested subjects. Strafford is first every time
but spends $2400.00 less per student.
Tell the school no and
vote for the budget committee’s budget. Tell the teachers no,
put up or shut up. We need to figure out why our kids are
getting a second rate education even though we are paying for a top
dollar one. Saying no will make them turn over every stone and
figure out what is going wrong. I’d like to be part of that search.
Tim Jandebeur, School Board candidate
Letter
To The Editor
The Republican wave that took over the State House
was supposed to focus like a laser beam on jobs. Does Republican
Rep. Dan McGuire know better than the rest of us what is good for
NH’s economy? He introduced HB 218, which would repeal the NH
Rail Transit Authority. This authority is currently studying, at no
expense to NH taxpayers, the idea of bringing rail service to
central NH.
Mr. McGuire wants to pull the plug on this process,
claiming that he knows that rail transit is all costs and few
benefits. He throws numbers around, - but he hasn’t done, and hasn’t
yet seen an analysis of all of the costs, and all of the benefits of
rail, - including potentially significant economic development for
the State.
Why is he in such a rush, and also, why did the
Transportation Committee appear to be in such a rush last week, when
it voted the bill out of the Committee with a somewhat suspect
maneuver involving House Speaker Bill O’Brien?
http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/241122/rail-chair-speaker-stacked-committee
Perhaps Rep. McGuire can explain this to his
constituents, and to the rest of NH residents. If
this ever happened at the local level, there would
likely be hell to pay.
The rush to
judgment, and short-term thinking of Rep. McGuire and some other
Republicans should concern all of us.
Victoria Parmele
Northwood
Letter
to the Editor
Teachers today have their hands full in the
classroom. There has been a marked increase in the number of
students coming into our school system with special needs –
learning, social, emotional, or all of these combined. Added to
this, is the pressure we put on our teachers to move through a given
curriculum with students – regardless of whether the students,
themselves are ready for the information – regardless of whether
these students and teachers are supported by parents at home -
regardless of whether the teachers are browbeaten by members of the
community who do not understand the mandates the school must meet
and the effort it takes to meet them for all students. If the
NECAP scores do not meet adequacy, the teachers are held solely
responsible.
I believe that allowing a significant cut in
the school’s budget is going to make the best teachers feel more
pressure and less valued –reducing their effectiveness.
Slashing the budget isn’t going to “hurt” the underperforming
teachers. Without question, it will hurt the students in the
classroom – and the students are the ones with no voice in this
conversation.
I urge all Northwood residents to come to the
School District Meeting on March 5 at 9am. Make your voice
heard loudly; others’ will certainly be. I also urge this
conversation to be respectful and avoid the drama and profanity of
last year’s meeting. I also urge everyone to vote on Tuesday,
March 8. There are several candidates for School Board who
could negatively change the course of our school for years to come.
Please research the candidates and vote. A member of the
School Board should be able to consider all aspects of an issue,
rather than the bottom line dollar amount only.
Nikki Roy
Northwood
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