Comments made on Gilford incorrect
Meredith News
by Alec O'Meara
March 22, 2007
MOULTONBORO — Just prior to the adjournment of Thursday's School District Meeting, Town Moderator Mel Borrin rose to comment on the evening's proceedings in light of the town's vote earlier in the week to not adopt an SB-2 style of government. Borrin said that the district had held "a great meeting" that night, and went on to say that Gilford, an SB-2 town, had voted down the school budget earlier in the week. Citing a Laconia Citizen article, Borrin said that Gilford would be cutting its football program and that "many teachers will find no jobs to come back to" next fall.
"I believe that SB-2 is the fastest way to destroy a school district," said Borrin, adding that he believed that in SB-2, residents "blindly vote on the budget and do not understand the intricacies involved."
The moderator's public comments regarding Gilford's school budget were inaccurate. While the Gilford
by Alec O'Meara
March 22, 2007
MOULTONBORO — Just prior to the adjournment of Thursday's School District Meeting, Town Moderator Mel Borrin rose to comment on the evening's proceedings in light of the town's vote earlier in the week to not adopt an SB-2 style of government. Borrin said that the district had held "a great meeting" that night, and went on to say that Gilford, an SB-2 town, had voted down the school budget earlier in the week. Citing a Laconia Citizen article, Borrin said that Gilford would be cutting its football program and that "many teachers will find no jobs to come back to" next fall.
"I believe that SB-2 is the fastest way to destroy a school district," said Borrin, adding that he believed that in SB-2, residents "blindly vote on the budget and do not understand the intricacies involved."
The moderator's public comments regarding Gilford's school budget were inaccurate. While the Gilford
School Board has yet to even meet to discuss how it will cover a default budget for the 2007-08 school year (indeed, School Board Chair Derek Tomlinson has been away on vacation this past week and unavailable for comment), the school's athletic programs are not expected to be impacted. Football, a varsity sport that has been privately funded for the past three years, is planning to continue in the fall, despite failing to gain tax support this year in the budget. Had the school budget been approved, the football program would have been funded publicly for the first time in 2007. Since last Tuesday's vote, the program has received a $5,000 donation from Laconia Savings Bank in the past week and will remain privately funded next fall. Lou Athanas, President of Friends of Gilford Football, has invited opponents of the program to come out for home games this coming fall to experience the atmosphere.
The Citizen article Borrin referred to, titled "Budget cuts put staff and programs on the line," does not specifically indicate that any programs athletic or otherwise will be cut, nor does it say that staff that could be cut are teachers. The article does quote Gilford Superintendent Paul DeMinico as saying that "something" would have to be cut out an already lean budget, and that programs and staff would be on the table for that discussion.
The article does speculate that in situations where contracts are up, some jobs may not be renewed. However, Gilford's contract with teachers will be in the second year of a three-year deal, meaning that teachers were not the "staff" mentioned.
The Gilford School Board is expected to begin discussion how it will make up a $146,000 shortfall in its $22.5 million budget at its regularly scheduled meeting in the first week of April. Until then, comments regarding how Gilford will operate under a default budget remain speculative.
The Citizen article Borrin referred to, titled "Budget cuts put staff and programs on the line," does not specifically indicate that any programs athletic or otherwise will be cut, nor does it say that staff that could be cut are teachers. The article does quote Gilford Superintendent Paul DeMinico as saying that "something" would have to be cut out an already lean budget, and that programs and staff would be on the table for that discussion.
The article does speculate that in situations where contracts are up, some jobs may not be renewed. However, Gilford's contract with teachers will be in the second year of a three-year deal, meaning that teachers were not the "staff" mentioned.
The Gilford School Board is expected to begin discussion how it will make up a $146,000 shortfall in its $22.5 million budget at its regularly scheduled meeting in the first week of April. Until then, comments regarding how Gilford will operate under a default budget remain speculative.
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