Washburn: The Big Lie Continues

The School Board and the middle school antics keep getting curiouser and curiouser.

The latest is a current petition circulating to affect future School Board decisions. In anticipation, the School Board has hired a Manchester law firm to assist in scuttling this effort. With unlimited property tax dollars to defend the indefensible, this is a no-win situation. When you hold public office if you are going to lie, make sure it will be a big one. The big lie here is the Broken Ground site will cost less than a Rundlet redo. If you keep repeating the lie, it won’t overnight become the truth.

Some of the comments coming out of the board, especially from new members, have been priceless. First off was the one suggesting the new board should not overturn a prior board decision even though the prior decision violated a public trust. Then came the conversion of two new members to favoring Broken Ground. Then the acknowledging the lack of public trust hoping for a second chance and then wanting to rethink the new auditorium and play fields.

Of late several city councilors have been asked about city funding infrastructure costs. Some councilors have avoided the topic like the plague, while others have been misinformed. Here is the what can really happen. Understand, there is no city policy on who should fund infrastructure costs, be it the developer or the city. If the unlikely happens and the School Board agrees to fund the entire engineering, layout, and construction costs, the council, by majority vote, could agree with the request. If any city funds are required and Penacook residents would be on the hook for the costs, as with any appropriation after the budget has been approved, a 2/3 vote would be required to approve it. Of late, the School Board admitted it is operating under the false assumption that the City Council is responsible for all infrastructure costs thereby giving more credibility to the big lie theory. Where this is going and how it will end remains a mystery. There is no good news to be had here.

Normally, heading into an election cycle with open offices, campaign signs crop up like dandelions on a spring lawn before the primary. In the various Broken Ground neighborhoods this time around, for sale signs are cropping up in anticipation of the traffic congestion and chaos soon to be created. In the South end, with no longer the premium of Conant and Rundlet, the same may happen here. With citywide property reappraisal commencing, values may be overstated given the negative impact this location choice on both neighborhoods.