SB-2 to appear on Hopkinton school district ballot

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:44:00 GMT

BY SARAH LEBRUN

When Hopkinton voters go to the polls on March 10, they can expect to see a warrant article asking voters to adopt official ballot law, or SB-2, in the school district.

Arnold Coda, along with three other residents – Diane LaChance, Beth Bloomquist and Beth Taylor – collected 112 signatures in four days. Only 25 were needed for it to be placed on the ballot.

“I think that’s an indication of the dissatisfaction of the people here in town,” said Coda. “In the minds of a lot of people in this town, the School Board and administration do not listen to the townspeople. The townspeople feel shut off. The older people are not going to School District Meetings because they feel it’s useless.”

Coda feels costs within the school district are out of control, as the Budget Committee’s proposed budget on this year’s town warrant is $15,620,642, an increase of $98,691 over the current year’s budget.

“People are saying they’re not getting any explanations from the School Board or administration about why the cost is going up this year,” said Coda.

Hopkinton School Board Chairman David Luneau said the district is in the middle third of districts throughout the state in per pupil spending.

“We’re not speaking out against education, we’re speaking out against the cost of it,” said Coda.

“I do not support SB-2 because it takes away from the meeting where the voters deliberate and come to a decision,” said Luneau. “One of the problems I see with SB-2 is rather than a district meeting, you have a deliberative session a month before the vote, and very very few people show up. These deliberative sessions determine what is on the ballot.”

“No system is perfect,” said Coda. “The School District Meeting is not perfect. SB-2 is not perfect.” The School Board plans to discuss the article at its March 3 meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Maple Street School and will make a recommendation for or against the article then.

This article requires a threefifths ballot vote.

Voting day is Tuesday, March 10, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Hopkinton High School.

The School District Meeting is Saturday, March 7, at 9 a.m., at Hopkinton High School.

Hopkinton News : School district

SB-2 to appear on Hopkinton school district ballot