It’s Important to Vote!

It’s Important to Vote!

On March 12^th, all of us will have an opportunity to go to the polls and cast a vote on the candidates and Warrant Articles.

All of us support the education of our children, but our school district is facing some challenges and there are some difficult decisions to make.  One of them revolves around the proposal to build a new Middle School.  In Early February, the Windham Taxpayers Coalition introduced a series of articles that attempted to break down the issues that are affecting our schools.

Most, if not all of the data in the articles came directly from the Windham School Board, the Windham School District, the NH Dept. of Ed., the Town of Windham, and two professional organizations that are paid by the School District -- the New Hampshire School Board Association (NHSBA) and the New England School Development Council).

The goal of the series was to balance the facts with the proposed solution of a new school project. All of the data sources were referenced throughout the articles.  Here is a brief summary of the series:

• If all School Warrant Articles pass, our School Tax Rate will increase 13.1% this year, and a minimum of 24% by 2015.

• The proposed Middle School Project is projected to cost over $50M in taxes to Windham Taxpayers ($31M Bond, $20.1M Interest, No State Aid) – for two grades.  The WHS cost Windham Taxpayers about $55M after Bond, Interest and State Aid – for four grades.

• If the new School Project is approved, the School Board has already stated it does not solve all of our current needs, and that additional improvements are required for our existing schools.

The series also addressed class sizes, school capacities, projected enrollments, tax impacts, and the “High Water Mark of FY12” (which included the “one time only kindergarten” and taxes that were raised in 2011).

With all of the above considerations, the WTC concluded the proposed new school was not the right solution for our community, but we encourage you to do your own research and then VOTE on Tuesday, March 12th.

For more information, please read the articles referenced below, or visit our website at www.WindhamTaxpayers.org.

Part 1 touched upon the State Standards for measuring Educational Capacities in our schools.

Part 2 contrasted Enrollment Projections between the School Board and their committee, the NHSBA and the NESDEC.  Two of the three NHSBA models shows that THIS YEAR we are at a peak, and we may begin to decline in September.  All three of the NHSBA models shows a bubble working it’s way through our schools.

Part 3 defined the group, and our goals.

Part 4 compared the Tax Burden of the Windham High School with the proposed new school project – and found them to be very close.

Part 5 compared the Tax Rates of our Town government and School government since 2001.  The Town Government Tax Rate was flat, the School government has grown substantially steadily.

Part 6 discussed the “High Water Mark of FY12” that is being used to justify the high tax burden of the new school.

The Windham Taxpayers Coalition