Letter To The Editor
I
wanted to respond to Tom Chase’s letter regarding school budgets,
property taxes and special education costs. Special educations costs
are not fixed costs. Rather, school boards do have control over them
and as such are considered variable costs.
A case
in point is when the Rochester School Board contracted with a
consulting firm having expertise in cost-benefit analyses of special
education programs. Their recommendations were estimated to save the
Rochester school district $2 million annually. They have already
implemented many of them at substantial savings to property
taxpayers.
Northwood Budget Committee members were given a 9-page report
entitled, “A Win-Win Approach to Reducing Special Education Costs”
published by another consulting firm (District Management Council)
located in Boston who also specializes in increasing the cost
effectiveness of special education programs. Thus, although special
education costs are mandated, there are “best practices” available
to school districts so they can be operated much more efficiently.
The
Budget Committee was also given a report produced by the State
Department of Revenue Administration, which showed Northwood
property taxpayers had the 6th highest “full-value” property tax
rate of the 37 municipalities in Rockingham County for 2011 (30%
higher than Nottingham). This, while being one of the poorest
communities in the County.
For the
school year 2011-2012 (ending 6-30-12) the Northwood school district
had total expenditures of $11,750,305. They returned $286,280 to
reduce taxes and retired two years of prior deficits of over
$200,000. This included paying approximately $270,000 for the
special education costs of a student whose legal residency was
Londonderry.
Northwood doesn’t need higher taxes. We need more school board
members who know where to go to get the expertise they need to bring
“best value” to our school system. Throwing money at our schools is
not the answer. Our families can’t afford it.
Sincerely,
Jim
Hadley
Northwood
SAU #53 Child Screening
Do you
have concerns about your child’s overall development? SAU #53, the
School Districts of Pembroke, Allenstown, Chichester, Deerfield, and
Epsom, has scheduled a child screening on Wednesday, January 23,
2013 at the Deerfield Community School, 66 North Road, Deerfield,
NH. The snow date is January 30, 2013.
A child
screening is a free screening of your child’s abilities in speech,
vision, hearing, motor, and learning skills. The screening is
administered by an Occupational and Speech Therapist and Special
Educator.
To be
eligible for the free screening:
• The
child must live within SAU #53
• A
parent/guardian must accompany the child
• The
child must be under 6 years of age
•
Please call for an appointment
For an
appointment, please contact Sharon Lewis, Special Education
Secretary, Deerfield Community School at (603) 463-7422 ext. 108.
Parents
with concerns about children 6 years old and over should contact Deb
Trottier, Special Education Coordinator, Deerfield Community School,
at (603) 463-7422.
Obituaries
Gordon Moore, Jr.
Gordon
Moore Jr., 81, of Jenness Pond died December 21st at the CRVNA
Hospice House following a brief illness. A lifelong NH resident, he
is survived by his wife, Patricia (McDonough) Moore, six children
Michael Moore of Northwood, Kim Abouabdo of Houston, TX; David
Moore of Concord, Colleen Schwarz of Concord, Matt Moore of Navarre,
FL. and Kathleen Cruz of Murphy, TX; 11 grandchildren, a great
granddaughter, who called him “Papa”; and a sister Mary Foote of
Wolfeboro. He was predeceased by his parents, Gordon Moore Sr. and
Nan Bean Moore, and many area relatives including the honorable
Grover C. Bean of Concord.
He grew
up on the south end of Manchester and was a graduate of Manchester
Central High School where he played the trumpet in the school band.
He was a former building inspector for the town of Hooksett and
during much of the 60s and 70s he was a general manager for both
Barry Aluminum Products and Mailways of New England in Manchester.
After graduating with a degree in civil engineering from New England
College in 1953, he worked as an engineer and surveyor for
Manchester Sand and Gravel, where he helped build much of the early
interstate highway system in northern New England.
He is a
former Hooksett Citizen of the year and helped to start the town’s
youth athletic association and build it’s athletic field complex. He
is a former baseball, basketball and Pop Warner Football coach and
Planning Board member in Hooksett. He was a Boy Scout leader and
over the years has held many positions. He also served the School
Board both in Hooksett and Trinity High School in Manchester. Most
recently he was President of the Jenness Pond Shore Owners
Association. He was chairman of the Pastoral Council at Our Lady of
Lourdes Church in Pittsfield. He moved from Hooksett to Northwood in
1995 following his retirement as Base Facilities Engineer at the New
Boston Satellite Tracking Station.
He
spent a lifetime loving his family, serving his community, and
living true to his belief that doing the right things for the right
reasons makes a difference in the world. He was a gentle man,
greatly loved, and he will be missed.
Donations may be made to the CRVNA Hospice House, 30 Pillsbury St.,
Concord, NH 03301 or to National Prion Disease Pathology
Surveillance Center (NPDPSC), Western Reserve University, 2085 Adelbert Rd. Rm 419, Cleveland, OH 44106.
To sign
an on line guest book, log on to
perkinsandpollard.com
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