Letter to the Editor: Vote No on School Article 4

To the Editor –

On April 8, voters will be asked to weigh in on School District petitioned warrant article 4, specifically asking that the School Budget Committee be disbanded, AND THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD INCREASE IN SIZE FROM 5 TO 7 MEMBERS. I believe that such a far-reaching change to the way we represent the voters/taxpayers into the school district (and its $68M budget) deserves MUCH MORE investigation and analysis than just a single Yes/No warrant article vote. As such I encourage voters to say NO to Article 4 when they step into the voting booth next Tuesday.

I’m in a unique position in that I have previously served for 5 years (2 as chairman) on the currently-structured School Budget Committee, and for the past 2 years I have served as a member of the Merrimack School Board. I’ve seen what’s good about the current structure, observed opportunities for improvement (and where some has already been made), and seen where some change could be warranted. But I would NEVER support making changes to these key elected bodies WITHOUT doing more cross-functional analysis, including proactive discussion, proposals and input from taxpayers, parents, business leaders, school administration, staff, etc. 

Specifically, if the warrant article petitioners would like to propose change, I’d encourage them to be more pragmatic by making a request for the creation of a “School District Charter Commission”. This entity could follow a model similar to that of the Merrimack Town Charter Commission, which nearly 10 years ago carefully looked at our town form of government and THEN PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE VOTERS. Take the opportunity to look holistically at elected representation to the school district, and investigate what the right board structure should be around not only the budget, but more importantly for the ongoing management of the policy and strategy around the education of the students in Merrimack. There’s too much at stake to “rush to judgment” on the validity of something as significant as the School Budget committee – or even more so to haphazardly assume that “7 is better than 5” in terms of makeup of the school board.

As such, I’d like voters to join me in voting NO on School District question 4 this coming April 8. And, in doing so, encourage the concerned citizens that put forth this warrant article to ask for a formal discussion and fact-driven look at what really makes sense for the Merrimack School District.

Sincerely,

Andy Schneider

34 Woodward Road

School Board member