Wilton-Lyndeborough Co-op, 1-year seat

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Name: Richard Griffin Age: 55 Address: 28 Park Street, Wilton Years of Residency: 14 Political History: Budget Consolidation Committee, 2009-2010. Affiliations: Sr. Pastor, Good News Bible Church, Wilton, 1997-2000. Member, Christ’s Church of Amherst. Wilton Library Board, 1998-1999. Main Street Revitalization Committee, 2001.

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Name: Johanna Lynch Age: 41 Address: 11 Tremont St., Wilton Years of residency: 11 Political history: Member of the Building Committee of the Wilton School Board, 2007-2009. Affiliations: An active Wilton School Board observer; founder of the N.H. chapter of Hands & Voices.

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By Jessie Salisbury Name: Joyce Fisk Age: 74 Address: 98 Dale St., Wilton. Years of residency: 74

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Name: Richard Griffin Age: 55 Address: 28 Park Street, Wilton Years of Residency: 14 Political History: Budget Consolidation Committee, 2009-2010. Affiliations: Sr. Pastor, Good News Bible Church, Wilton, 1997-2000. Member, Christ’s Church of Amherst. Wilton Library Board, 1998-1999. Main Street Revitalization Committee, 2001.

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2010 Wilton Town Meeting
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2010 Lyndeborough Town Meeting
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Name: Richard Griffin

Age: 55

Address: 28 Park Street, Wilton

Years of Residency: 14

Political History: Budget Consolidation Committee, 2009-2010.

Affiliations: Sr. Pastor, Good News Bible Church, Wilton, 1997-2000. Member, Christ’s Church of Amherst. Wilton Library Board, 1998-1999. Main Street Revitalization Committee, 2001.

Name: Johanna Lynch

Age: 41

Address: 11 Tremont St., Wilton

Years of residency: 11

Political history: Member of the Building Committee of the Wilton School Board, 2007-2009.

Affiliations: An active Wilton School Board observer; founder of the N.H. chapter of Hands & Voices.

Name: Joyce Fisk

Age: 74

Address: 98 Dale St., Wilton.

Years of residency: 74

Political History: Wilton Budget Committee, 1984-88, 2002-09. Wilton Elementary School, 1975-2010.

Affiliations: Wilton Unitarian Church, Hillsboro County 4-H Leaders Assoc., 4-H leader in Wilton for 26 years, Hillsboro County Fair Assoc. for 22 years.

Three candidates are running for a one-year seat from Wilton on the Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative School Board. They were asked to answer a question: “How do you see the new, combined school district as an improvement over the old system of three separate districts?”

Richard Griffin:

The common perception is that consolidation will save money; it will not. Part of the discussion at the meeting last year involved citing a study of 10 districts in New York that consolidated between 1986 and 1996; that study showed an average of 10 percent savings for the districts that consolidated.

I obtained a copy of that study and was able to speak with representatives from the four most recent consolidations. Of those four, only two reported cost savings; those savings were directly derived from eliminating duplicate post-consolidation positions. (One district, for example, consolidated three schools into one building paid for by the state grant money, eliminating two principals and two transportation coordinators.) One district reported no savings at all, and no opportunity to save. So consolidation will not save us money.

Consolidation will, however, allow for more effective citizen oversight of the administration of our schools. The SAU will report to a single board with (presumably) a single direction and policy.

Johanna Lynch:

I favored consolidation because of the potential for cost cutting, increased state aid and better education by coordinating what’s taught at the elementary schools with the middle school curriculum. Consolidation brings significant challenges too. The board will need to do a lot of their work in committees and they and the SAU will need to vastly improve how they keep the public informed through posted meetings, agendas and minutes. Parents with concerns will now need to raise them publicly before the board and not expect three or five members to be dedicated to their school- specific issues. At the SAU level, there will be some pressure off the business end but the superintendent will need to be tapped for more direction and guidance. Consolidation represents a major change in how Wilton and Lyndeborough address education, and I think if our towns work together and support the new board it will be a huge improvement over where we stand now.

Joyce Fisk:

(Note: Due to an editor’s error, Fisk was asked a different question: Give an example of a program that could be cut to save money and an example of a program that should not be cut under any circumstances, and explain why you feel this way.)

I believe we could change something around in special education that could save us some money. I also think that in the coming years, with the consolidation, that changes can be made that will save us money and that will come, looking at the usage of the buildings.

I would not like to see any cuts made to regular education or to the sports program. The children in our towns need a good education program and our NECAP scores need improving. Sports are important to rounding out education as well as music and art. This is a time to learn good sportsmanship, being able to win and learning how to handle losing.