An Analysis of Windham Schools – Part 3

Who are the Windham Taxpayers Coalition?

The founding members of the Windham Taxpayers Coalition came together with a common, fundamental goal of encouraging our government officials to be good stewards of our tax dollars. Each of us shares the belief that prudent investments of our financial resources will bring positive returns for our town in the form of a stronger community base, increased property values, and a more enjoyable place to live for our families and neighbors.  On the flip side, we also believe that poor investments will have the opposite effect.

With this in mind, we decided to roll up our sleeves and take a fresh look at some serious challenges regarding the management of our schools.  There are multiple issues, but the primary challenge is to alleviate the overcrowding problems that exist in some of our grades.  We were hesitant to begin this project, but after reviewing numerous documents presented at the School Board meetings we noticed conflicting information.  We felt it was important that we do our best to eliminate the confusion that was created.  We decided the best approach was to dissect the documents and break them down into a series so that all of the people of Windham could understand the pros and cons surrounding this major financial decision.

We felt it was important to explore the information so that the taxpayers can determine whether the best course of action is to pursue the renovation of our existing schools or to build a new Middle School.  This is why we decided to create the coalition.

To make sure we understand the issues clearly, this series will perform an independent analysis of our school system, and share our findings in an open and honest conversation.  Our goals are not pre-determined – and the facts, we hope, will lead us to the best solution for our problems.

While we are all proud of the Windham High School and the benefits it provides to our students and community… we must not forget that mistakes were made during the planning process -- which led to higher than expected costs. We should learn from that experience and apply that knowledge to solving our new challenges.

Based upon our initial research, there is a lot of information to decipher and place into proper context. That is the purpose of this series, to gather and share the facts with the hope that an informed vote in March will bring our town together and lead us to the best solution.

The Windham Taxpayers Coalition was founded by; the Honorable Mary Griffin, Phil Messina, Rick Okerman and Ken Eyring.

Please visit www.WindhamTaxpayers.com for more information.

Windham Taxpayers Coalition