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Archived for Issue V16-N13
Published March 6, 2008

Letters and Opinion, The Amherst Citizen Newspaper Amherst & Mont Vernon, New Hampshire, Letters, Town, Schools, Sports, Region, Advertising

Support for Article 44
To the editor:
Communities around the state are taking initiatives to combat climate change. Last year the town of Amherst approved a climate change warrant article that encouraged Amherst citizens to support measures to reduce emissions and save energy. The warrant also suggested the Board of Selectmen appoint a committee of volunteers to recommend steps to be taken by the community to effect climate change.
The time has come for the Town of Amherst to move forward with the appointment of a “Climate Change” committee so that it can begin work on a plan towards achieving what the community apparently wants. Article #44 sets the time frame for the Board of Selectmen to appoint a voluntary committee in the current year. The longer we wait the farther we fall behind.
There are things that citizens, communities and businesses can do individually or in partnership to bring about significant improvements in energy efficiency. Cites like Nashua, Portsmouth, Keene, Dover and Concord and towns like Epping and Hudson are beginning to take positive steps that are having some beneficial results for their communities.
I urge the citizens of Amherst to vote for the approval of Article #44 so that Amherst will join with other communities and become a part of this very exciting and beneficial initiative. This article has no impact on the tax rate.

Sincerely,
Marilyn Peterman
Amherst

Library provides big city services in user friendly atmosphere
To the editor:
Although I am running unopposed for the position of Library Trustee, I wanted to let the citizens of Amherst know that I do not take this job lightly. The Trustees oversee and advise our very competent Library Director on policy, budget, services, and activities. We feel that under Amy’s able direction and the high quality of the staff that our Library continues to be a role model for the state in providing big city services in a small, user friendly atmosphere. Do you belong to a book group? Did you know that our library will obtain the books for your group? Many book groups are taking advantage of this. Our on-line services continue to expand. Soon you will be able to reserve a book elsewhere in the state and pick it up here in Amherst. Both children, teen and adult programs continue to expand and be well attended. Hopefully by now everyone is the proud owner of the new library card which includes a key chain one for those like me who forget to bring their card! Over the years the townspeople have been very supportive of the Library by approving the budget. I hope that you will continue to do so. I also hope you will either stop in personally or electronically to check out what is going on. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Thank you all for your support.
Helen Rowe
Amherst

Support for Nancy Demers
To The Editor:
It is good news for all in Amherst that Nancy Demers is not ready to leave her Town Clerk’s office yet. We would certainly miss her smile, her warm and welcoming friendliness, her helpfulness, and most of all, her expertise. The Town Clerk is often the first Town employee that a newcomer to Amherst meets. We cannot think of a better introduction to our town than meeting Nancy when one goes to Town Hall to change a car registration or seek help with a problem.
We encourage all Amherst citizens to vote for Nancy Demers for Town Clerk, and when you see her next, implore her not to leave her job for a long, long time!

Bill and Candace Rapf
Amherst

SHS Per Student Expenditures Rise as School Population Decreases
To the editor:
In two warrant articles this year, the Souhegan Cooperative (Amherst/Mont Vernon) School District board is proposing a budget of $17,368,523, which is a $598,453 increase. This 3.57% increase over last year’s budget is not the 2.47% increase that the handpicked finance committee would want you to believe (their and the school board’s explanations have left out the half of the salary increases that is covered by Article 3). On the other hand, it is not too bad based on their history. Not too bad until you consider one other fact: this budget is to cover a school that will have 26 fewer students next year, a 2.7% decrease in the school population in one year.
Rather than give taxpayers a break because the school population is declining, the school establishment has decided to decrease the student/staff ratio and increase salaries by over twice the trailing rate of inflation: they want more employees per students next year and salaries to increase by about 6% (Article 3 raises, plus already committed “step” increases). In fact, they want to increase the per student expenditures by 6.42%
Last year the school board proposed a $17,137,165 budget. The voters rejected that proposal, leaving a default budget of $16,770,070. This $357,095 reduction worked out just fine. The voters saved on taxes and the school district ran a surplus. This year’s default budget would be $16,876,667, $106,597 more than last year’s budget. With a decreasing school population, the school board should be able to do just fine with that increase. Once again, teachers will get raises, the school will have enough money to operate and taxpayers will get some consideration.
Vote down Articles 2 and 3 on the Souhegan school ballot to continue to enforce fiscal responsibility on an organization that does not seem to be able to find it on its own.

Sincerely,
William O’Brien
Mont Vernon

Response to William O’Brien’s Letter on Souhegan Budget
To the editor:
The Souhegan Cooperative School Board would like to take the opportunity to respond to William O’Brien’s recent letter regarding Souhegan’s proposed budget. While the simple math of “total budget dollars divided by total student population” would seemingly confirm Mr. O’Brien’s per student cost calculation, the reality is that it’s not that simple. A more valid, commonly accepted measure is the one used by the NH Dept. of Education which adjusts for certain factors that tend to skew the results.
All school budgets contain Regular and Special Education cost components as well as fixed costs. With all due respect to the students and families of students who require special education services, the fact is, those services are very expensive to provide. As presented at the Deliberative Session on February 6th, the range in cost per special education student is $20,000 - $290,000 per year. Special education costs increased 8.63% within the proposed budget, which represents 50% of the 2.47% total budget increase. It’s plain to see that co-mingling special education costs with regular education costs skews the cost per student calculation dramatically. In addition, it is important to note that in an effort to make a fair comparison between schools, the NH Department of Education does not include tuition and transportation costs, food service revenue or capital and debt service when calculating cost per pupil.
The latest figures available from the NH Department of Education website are for the 2005-2006 school year. According to the DOE, Souhegan’s cost per pupil figure is $11,468.52 (19 high schools have a higher cost per pupil figure than Souhegan). Additionally, the student to teacher ratio calculated by Mr. O’Brien is inaccurate and skewed for the same reasons. According to the DOE’s October 2006 calculations, Souhegan ranks 63rd among all state public schools with a ratio of 10.8 to 1 (the average for the state is 12.8 to 1). Finally, Souhegan ranks 14th in the state for beginning teacher salaries.
The Souhegan Cooperative School Board invites you to visit the SAU 39 website http://sprise.com and the NH Dept. of Education website for additional information. We work very hard to carefully develop budgets that adequately provide for the level of educational excellence expected by our communities while being mindful of the impact to the taxpayer. Please take the time to acquaint yourself with the facts about Souhegan’s budget and vote on March 11th. Thank you.

Sincerely,
The Souhegan Cooperative School Board
Steve Coughlan, Chair
Jeanne Ludt, Vice Chair
Janet Gaynor
Dan Foley
Dana Redmond
Christine Morley
John Walsh

Re: Reminder to clear our mail boxes
To the editor:
After reading the letter of “Reminder to clear our mail boxes”, I am prompted to write a “reminder” of my own to the U.S. Post office. Having requested a mail box move, citing safety, and having been denied, and basically through a ridiculous form letter, being told this was too inconvenient for the deliverer, and we will rent you a mail box, this angered me.
I don’t think the citizens of Amherst need reminders to do what I consider the almost impossible. About half of us do not have the luxury of having mailboxes at the ends of our driveways where we can sneak up on them from the safety of our driveways to clear them. Even though we pay the same taxes, and the same postage. Like the old video game of Frogger, we have to artfully dodge traffic to cross the street. If we are lucky, we can dig ourselves a place to retreat before the next barrage of traffic, because if a driver is looking at you, they tend to drive toward you.
Over the years, I can’t count the number of times I have been stuck across the street in down pours of rain, or have slipped and fell in the middle of the main road getting my mail. I can count on one hand the times a good citizen or police officer has stopped to let me cross safely, and I thank you. It’s not unusual to be given the middle finger or get a horn blast, for just trying to get my mail. So, a reminder? I do not need a reminder, what I do need is for the U.S. Post office to stop their old fashioned rules and get out of the dark ages. Raise postage another nickel if that’s what it takes. Our safety should be priority not convenience.

Bob Auger
Amherst

Head Runs for Reelection to Amherst School Board
To the editor:
I am running for a second term as a member of the Amherst School Board and hope that the Amherst residents will vote for me. As a long-time resident and former teacher in the Amherst schools, I have enjoyed being part of the team of teachers, administrators, and school board members who are responsible for providing the best education possible for our children.
My work on the board focuses on two commitments: one to excellence in education and the other to the voters who pay the bills. It is a constant balancing act but not an impossible one. With three years of experience to lean on, I am looking forward to meeting the challenge with added effectiveness.

Nancy Head
Amherst

FinCom urges passage of budget
To the editor:
The Souhegan Finance Committee took the job of reviewing the fiscal year 2009 budget and warrants very seriously. We realized that our task was important to the school and the community.
There are many components of the Souhegan High School budget including regular educational programs, special education programs, support services and administration, building improvements to name a few.
I hope that we could all agree that the goal of any educational system is to focus on learning for all students with as little increase in cost as possible. That is what the school board and the administration has tried to achieve with this budget and we commend them for this.
There are two very important programs in this budget that deserve to be supported and funded in order to continue to meet important educational goals. One is the continuation of the Literacy Program to improve reading and writing skills and the other is the program of replacing and upgrading technology, as important today as any educational tool of the past. These two programs are critical to learning in the 21st century.
Many of the items in this budget are impacted by state and federal mandates, increases in special education, fuel, transportation, insurance costs and building maintenance.
Yet after all is said and done, the 2009 proposed budget has the lowest percentage increase in the school’s history. Article 3 on the warrant is for the approval of a three year negotiated contract for professional and support staff. An agreement of a three-year contract is a win-win for the employees and the school and deserves to be approved.
The decisions that we make on March 13, 2008 are very important to the students, faculty and administrators of the Souhegan High School. The Souhegan Finance Committee supports the 2009 budget and warrant and urge its passage.

Sincerely,
Marilyn Peterman, Chair
Gail Agans,
Fran Harrow
Mary Mahar
Peter Stearns
Julie Whitcomb

Thank You for Donating Box Tops
To the editor:
A big thank you to all from Moppets Nursery School and Kindergarten. We are a non-profit school located here in Milford, which provides a quality education at an affordable cost. The school is run by the parents of the children attending the school, and we have been established for over 30 years.
We participate in the following Education programs, Box Tops for Education, Campbell’s UPC Labels for Education, the Tyson Project A+ program, Stop & Shop A+ Bonus Bucks program and the Shaw’s Receipt program. So far this year, with the proceeds from each program, we have been able to purchase some new art supplies and activities for the children to use at the school.

Thank you for all your help.
Sincerely,
Heidi Kerris
Moppets Nursery School and Kindergarten
Milford

Elect Linda M. Rossi for Town Clerk
To the editor:
For those people who do not know me, my name is Linda M. Rossi and I am running for the position of Town Clerk. Some of you might know my late husband Richard T. Rossi who passed away in June of 2006 or my son who works as an EMT for the town. All of us have given a lot to the town of Amherst and I would like to continue this as your new town clerk.
In the past few years, I have been fortunate enough to be your deputy town clerk, and have made it my duty to care for each and every person that comes to me like a member of my family. I would like to extend that care to the office as a whole so that every person who comes to the town clerks office feels like a member of the family.
I think that it is time for a change so that new ideas can enter the town hall and especially the town clerks office.

Linda M. Rossi
Amherst

Support for Linda Rossi
To the editor:
I am writing this letter in support of Linda Rossi who is running for the office of Town Clerk.
I have known Linda and her family since moving to this area of Amherst, which is close to sixteen years. We previously lived in another area of town. Linda is a caring and enthusiastic person who really has an interest in her town. Since I have known her she has volunteered many hours for the betterment of the town helping out both at the police department and even in the Town Clerk office to name a few areas of her donations of time.
Experience can be helpful, but change can be motivating to move foreword. I believe Linda is motivated. So please consider a vote for my neighbor Linda M. Rossi on March 11.

Thank You,
Mary Jane Quirk-Bessette
Amherst

Thank You For Your Support
To the editor:
The Amherst Farmers’ Market at Salzburg Square is closing its door permanently on March 8. The market was a wonderful community event and a great testing ground for agriculture in New Hampshire but it has become too difficult to keep locally produced and affordable goods available through the winter months. It was a hard decision but we wanted to let you know that we have appreciated your support over the past 1 ½ years.
We are heading back where we belong – the Village Green! The Amherst Farmers’ Market on the Green is celebrating its 5th year this season. We look forward to seeing all of you there this season as we bring you the best from our local farms and artisan producers.

Thank you
Eileen Cavallaro
Market Manager
Amherst Farmers’ Market