Pelham - Windham News March 11, 2011 - 5


More Letters to our Editor


continued from page 3 I’d like to close by saying that the mission


of Pelham Little League is to see the kids have fun playing baseball, improve their skills, and learn how to compete. We plan on hosting free skills clinics for the kids this spring with professional level instruction, and we will be investing in several on-field improvements at Muldoon Park. We want our kids in Pelham to be excited to come to the ball field and enjoy playing baseball year after year.


2011 Pelham Baseball Board: Chris Mader, Doug Viger, Lou Longo, Ed Gleason, Chris Chausse, Sue Incropera, Donna Viger, Nick Caprio, David Williams, Tim Jozokos, Tom Moro, Rick Tarpey, Mike Bourk, and Dave Masiello - Pelham


Windham GOP Welcomes WMUR Host


The Windham Republican Town Committee welcomes James Pindell, host of WMUR’s Political Scoop, as their speaker for this month’s meeting. The meeting will be on Tuesday, March 15, at 7 p.m. at the Windham Senior Center, and is offered as a public service, open to all, no matter what party affiliation. Mr. Pindell authors WMUR’s Political Scoop, which provides on-air political analysis for WMUR-TV. The Washington


Post called him the “Insider’s Insider” for his coverage of New Hampshire politics and he is the only reporter to cover both the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary as a beat for local outlets.


Newly elected Committee Chairman


Travis Blais stated, “We are delighted to bring Mr. Pindell to Windham and encourage residents to attend and learn more about press relations and political coverage.” If anyone has questions or wishes further information, they may call Margaret Crisler at 595-7625.


Margaret Crisler - Windham


Stephanie Wimmer Thanks You


Thank you for your support in Tuesday’s election and for coming out to vote. I am grateful to the many people who encouraged and supported me in my campaign for the Windham School Board. Thank you to my husband Mark and my children. Thank you to all of the candidates who raised their hands and offered to serve. I have spoken to so many Windham citizens over the last several months and am overwhelmed and encouraged by their interest in and commitment to our schools and our children!


In My Opinion...


by Lynne Ober, with contributions from William O’Brien and D.J. Bettencourt Fourteen years ago, starting with the Claremont II lawsuit, the state of New Hampshire began a process in funding local education that can best be described as a cycle of chaos. The result has been an untenable reality that has pitted communities against each other and taxpayers against the judiciary. It’s high time we brought stability, predictability, and a long-term solution to the taxpayers and the cities and towns of the state. It’s also time that the legislature started putting its focus on making sure that our students are getting a high-quality education, not an adequate one. That’s why House leaders have moved forward with a constitutional amendment that restores local control of our schools by taking our courts out of the education discussion. This will ensure that education decisions will be made between parents, teachers, School Boards, and students—where it always should have remained.


Amending our founding document is not something that we take lightly.


It’s an admission that other remedies have failed and that the state Supreme Court and the legislature simply haven’t been able to iron out our viewpoints. However, we believe that setting budgeting priorities is a legislative principle, and must remain so. This is something that we cannot and must not turn over to the judiciary, and we must take this serious step to protect this important New Hampshire value. We have all seen the turmoil that the court’s involvement in education funding has caused, and it follows a predictable cycle. The process starts with a plan to reengineer school funding,


which immediately devolves into spreadsheet politics and rapidly becomes an effort to buy votes based on amounts given to various communities. Next, the towns that feel that they have somehow been slighted


race to the courtroom to challenge the new funding law, and the court battle starts. In order to avert an adverse decision and sometimes local political considerations, the legislature considers changing the funding formula, and the process begins anew from square one.


Instead of refighting the same old battles, we need to bring a resolution to this issue that stops the endless runs to the courtroom and allows the legislature to bring a measure to predictability to the cities and towns of New Hampshire, so that they can make their future plans on a more than one-year-at-a-time basis. We also need to put decisions about our education funding and


policy in the hands of our elected officials, not unelected judges. Taking the responsibility and accountability away from the people’s representatives does a disservice to the public and our constitutional amendment restores this critical principle. This amendment affirms that people’s elected representatives, not the court system, will have responsibility for determining school funding decisions and setting targeted aid. As a practical matter, this


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Congratulations to Michelle Farrell on her re-election to the School Board! Windham is fortunate to have her working so tirelessly for our children. I am honored you have chosen me


to serve as your representative on the Windham School Board. Even more exciting for me is voter support for multiple School Board warrant articles, including the construction of a permanent kindergarten at Golden Brook School and for the completion of our Facilities Master Plan. We are moving forward with our schools in Windham, and I feel privileged to be part of this bright future.


Stephanie Wimmer - Windham Thank You


Something remarkable happened on


voting day in Windham last Tuesday, March 8, and I had the honor of being a part of it. I want to give a special thank-you for the bi-partisan support and hard work that won me that one-year position on the Planning Board. Many, many people worked very hard to achieve the right results for our town.


Again, thank you. Carolyn B. Webber - Windham


Outdoors Fishing Courses


Charlie with Chalk Learn how to fly-fish for trout at a free course being conducted


by the Merrimack River Valley Chapter – Trout Unlimited and the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s “Let’s Go Fishing Program.” There are two locations to choose from: • Hooksett Library, Wednesdays, April 6, 13, 20, and 27, 6-8 p.m., plus an on-the-water experience on Saturday, April 30, from 9-11 a.m. To register, visit http://www.hooksettlibrary.org, or call 485-6092.


• Manchester City Library, Thursdays, April 7, 14, 21, and 28, 6:30-8:30 p.m., plus an on-the-water experience on Saturday, April 30, from 9-11 a.m. To register, visit http://www. manchester.lib.nh.us, e-mail sviggiano@manchesternh.gov, or call 624-6550, ext. 323. The course includes an introduction to fly-tying (tools will


be provided). While in class, you will learn to tie a fly that guarantees you will catch a fish. Other topics include fishing strategies and techniques and where to find good places to fish for trout in New Hampshire. We will teach you to cast a fly rod (all equipment is provided). This series of classes is designed not only for the beginner, but also for intermediate fly anglers who wish to improve their skills.


Charlie Chalk can be reached at outdoorswithcharlie@areanewsgroup.com


by Lynne Ober


Education Funding Amendment Critical to Stability and Focus on Quality to Schools


amendment, if adopted, will eliminate the statewide property taxes and make sure that donor towns are a bad memory, never to return. Furthermore, because of court rulings, the legislature has spent the past decade trying to determine what an “adequate” education means. Now, we don’t know too many parents who believe their child


deserves just an adequate education. They want their lawmakers to focus on finding ways to deliver an outstanding education that will prepare them for the challenges that await them in today’s fast- paced world. That’s what our amendment will allow the state and communities to do.


It is important to understand that this is not an effort to merely do


away with state education aid. This bill is designed to go hand-in- hand with the school funding formula designed by Representative David Hess that provides consistency and reliability to the education funding debate while also offering a greater ability to target aid to those communities that truly need assistance in the future. Working together, this amendment and funding plan will offer communities, taxpayers, parents, and students the best chance for opportunity, stability, and excellence. This will give us a chance to end the chaos that has dominated each budget and put away the political football that has been a distraction and created hostility where there should be cooperation. This is a historic moment to improve New Hampshire’s present and help to secure the future for our children and grandchildren. Now is the time to accomplish what so many before us could not and solve this problem for good.


Representative William O’Brien, of Mont Vernon, is the speaker of the House of Representatives. Representative D.J. Bettencourt, of Salem, is the majority leader. Representative Lynne Ober, of Hudson, is the Chairman of the Special Committee on Education Funding Reform and the Vice Chairman of the Finance Committee.


In My Opinion is strictly an OP-ED column that stands on the opin- ion of one writer, Lynne Ober, as opposed to a newspaper reporter who does not provide an opinion, but reports the facts. This column, in many instances, is a counterpoint to published stories and does not reflect the unbiased reporting policy of the Pelham~Windham News or the opinion of the management, advertisers, and ownership of Area News Group.


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