Opinion
Community Conversations: Gary Gorski – Build enrollment by building more homes
By GARY GORSKI
The high cost of operating our small elementary schools is driven by an imbalance between capacity and enrollment. We’ve voted on cutting capacity by closing schools, and voters have made clear that’s not where they want to go. It’s time to focus on...
Community Conversations: Bethany Craig – Start again, but pledge to keep elementary schools
By BETHANY CRAIG
Where do we go from here? We go back to the drawing board, but honor the original Articles of Agreement.Instead of repeatedly attempting to change the rules, we work within those rules to find solutions and make a reconfiguration plan. The Articles of...
Community Conversations: Tom Burgess – The meanings of the articles
By TOM BURGESS
On March 12, the residents of the nine ConVal towns went to the polls to vote on the proposed school budget and 11 other articles related to the operation of the school system. The voters approved 11 of the 12 articles. Let's focus on three articles...
Letter – School Board members made great effort
In a recent letter to the editor (“ConVal board members should resign”), a writer harshly criticized the ConVal School Board for its attempts to control costs (and our taxes) by diligently investigating an option to consolidate schools. I disagree...
Letter: ConVal board members should resign
The vote is in, and the ConVal School Board’s proposal failed to get even 46%.The reasons why it failed are obvious. Many thoughtful members of our communities have pointed them out in detail. Board members should be ashamed of the turmoil they put...
Letter: Indefinite postponement is no way to legislate
Almost every Thursday since Jan. 4, I have taken my seat in Legislators’ Hall, prepared to do the work I was elected to perform – to consider the bills before us and vote on them in the way I believe best serves my constituents and the citizens of New...
Letter: Vote for Biden to save democracy
During President Joe Biden's fiery and inspirational State of the Union speech on March 7, he stated that his second term would focus on ensuring that women will continue to have access to abortion and all reproductive health care and that everyone...
View From the River: Margaret Nelson – Enjoy the season, even the mud
As I write, the sun is shining and the sky is clear and blue. Hard to realize that one year ago our region had three feet of snow in the middle of March. Welcome to March. My husband informed me early in our relationship in Bangor (Maine) that “where...
Viewpoint: Jeanne Dietsch – How "liberty" replaced the American Dream
By JEANNE DIETSCH
My parents wanted my brothers and me to have a better education than they did. Learning about a world beyond the one we grew up in was the key to opportunity, the American Dream.Now, parents are told children should only learn what their parents...
Viewpoint: Mary (May) Clark -- Consider creative ideas to keep ConVal elementary schools open
By MARY (MAY) CLARK
On March 12, we will vote on a Conval District warrant article that, if it passes, will allow the School Board to close four elementary schools in the district: Bennington (Pierce School), Francestown Elementary, Temple Elementary and the Dublin...
Letter: Ideas for ConVal
Keep and maintain all existing school buildings and facilities. They are already budgeted.Relocate the lower grades in middle schools to all elementary schools, maximizing capacity. If a student wishes to attend a larger elementary school for a...
Letter: Consolidation isn’t worth the disruption
I do not believe closing the four elementary schools will ultimately save any money or lower taxes. In fact, I predict the task of actually performing the reorganization could run into all types of unexpected problems which will be costly. Solving...
Letter: What ConVal doesn’t say
The Conval School Board is stuck in myopia. Over and over again, they blame the small schools for their troubles – “We keep having to cut middle and high schools because of the cost of running these small schools.” (Dick Dunning, Dec. 19). Would it be...
Letter: Going nowhere on education funding
Funding state education almost entirely on the back of property taxes is moronically myopic, yet for decades Republican-dominated New Hampshire legislatures have continued to adhere to it.In the 1990s, the state Supreme Court concluded that funding...
Viewpoint: Steve Chamberlin – Seven reasons to vote no on ConVal article
By STEVE CHAMBERLIN
Casting a vote that will change the long-term trajectory of our region requires a foundation of objective, complete data, and a plan subsequently built from that data.Unfortunately, the Prismatic ConVal reconfiguration study does not provide the...
Viewpoint: Robert Beck – Two years and counting
Two years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the largest military conflict in Europe since the end of World War II. Unleashing the Red Army from three directions -- the north (Belarus), south (Crimea) and east (Russia proper), Russia...
Letter: Edelblut is up to his old tricks
He’s at it again! I’ve long felt that Education Secretary Frank Edelblut wants to do away with public education. I find it amazing, that he was appointed with no education background whatsoever. His promotion of charter schools has resulted in...
Letter: Vote no on Mascenic budget to save the schools
Nine years ago, Bentti Hoiska tried to kill our public schools. This year he's trying again, with the exact same move.He rounded up a bunch of what were formerly called tea party conservatives to pad the vote and proposed to cut our budget by $1...
Letter: Edelblut should speak up about spending
I hope Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut is doing well and keeping up with the deliberative sessions that have taken place throughout New Hampshire. Many townspeople have requested their school district’s budget be cut just a fraction of what...
Viewpoint: Tina Kriebel – Reconfiguration plan is a middle-ground proposal
By TINA KRIEBEL
I am writing this viewpoint as an almost 20-year resident of the ConVal district. I have two students who graduated from ConVal High School after attending 13 years in the district. I volunteered in Peterborough Elementary School and South Meadow...
