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About Me
- the Winchester Informer
- I am part of a group of Winchester citizens completely opposed to dirty and hazardous businesses, like asphalt and wood burning plants wanting to come into town at the expense of our quality of life. I am concerned about preserving the rural character of Winchester. These types of development have no benefits for Winchester citizens and they create many health hazards and will cause the destruction of green space. Our Winchester is known for its precious natural resources; dramatic rocky slopes, unique wetlands and abundant wildlife. I feel there are many questions concerning these proposed projects that outweigh any benefits. The increase in traffic along existing streets and noise and air pollution would be very significant. I am also concerned that the town infrastructure cannot cope with the problems these types of businesses will demand. Furthermore, I am very discouraged with the Planning Board and Zoning Boards and feel they have been negligent in their duties to protect neighboring residents from health hazards and safety issues that will surely arise and affect the lives and livelihoods of many citizens.
12 comments:
I am not a parent, but am a taxpayer, and was encouraged to read this letter of Mr. Lewis and his approach to the monetary situation our school faces. We are all having to make some hard decisions and sacrifices in this present economy, and they are long overdue. Thank you Mr. Lewis. We taxpayers will appreciate anything you can do to reign in expenses.
Perhaps if they hadn't provided so many expensive options for kids all summer long when they could have found something to do on their own like I did when I was a kid and stop being a babysitter service, then they would have the cash for supplies, sports and other programs they are now cutting out. Being frugal with our tax dollars, providing the highest quality of education possible and keeping programs which promote physical activity and camaraderie should be the schools first priority. I wonder of all of the school children in Winchester, just how many participated in these summer camps, what percentage were served?
This last comment (curious said)just proves that people without children dont have a clue and should not give their 2 cents on subjects about kids.
Keeping our kids of the streets and safe and supervised is very important and thats what these summer programs do.
My wife and myself have to work to pay our bills (and Taxes) and its very important that we have good safe programming year round to let us do that.
And by the way we paid for our child to go to camp.
I hope that people with children realize that property owners with out children are taxed for education too. It's time that there was a school use tax to even the playing field. Just like water and sewer billing. The more kids you generate, the more you should pay for. There is nothing fair about homeowners with out offspring, shelling out two thirds of their tax bills for people that don't .Most residential properties don't generate enough taxes to carry their own weight when education is figured in. When one looks at the lack of a decent tax base in town, the school system represents state owned repression.
Amen to the last comment. The main reason the school needs to cut back on programs etc. is because they did not receive state funds that were promised.
These amazing summer programs that were offered did not cost the school money. Parents paid for them, some kids received a scholarship and the ACCESS a grant funded program helped these kids go. Thank good we had these programs. It keeps the children supervised, stimulated and active!
Parents may have contributed monies to send their kids to camp; however it cost taxpayer dollars to set up, run, staff and promote these camps for your children to have a place to go, they just didn't appear on the horizon one fine day. No one begrudges kids going to camp. In these hard times cuts need to be made and hard choices need to be made. All around the area and across the state, schools are making tough choices to conserve and spend wisely the limited funds they have, but not Winchester. Here hirings continue and bloated salaries are the rule of the day and then these teachers went out and voted themselves a raise at the cost of the taxpayers in town knowing full well that the state money wasn't going top come. Why shouldn't we childless taxpayers be upset that we now have to foot the bill to provide the dollars for all of this? Our school system is just like the Federal Government, bloated, top heavy and spending more money than it has, do the math ( if you can) it just doesn't add up to a very frugal, well run system and places an enormous do or die burden on too many property owners.
Oh and to that foolish person who says we childless taxpaying homeowners should never comment on school subjects, please let me know who you are and where you live so I can drop off my coming December tax bill, that is going to reflect the increases for our new school district, for you to pay and then I'll gladly keep my mouth shut and my comments to myself.
I would imagine that about half the kids in school have parents that are on some sort of entitlement. So the taxpayers without children get hit twice. once for the cost of education and then they pay for the the rent, food and health care, etc. of these family's. Welfare has turned into a family business and its not just Winchester, and no one has the answer to these problems.
Not sure where you got the information about teachers getting raises. This is not true. They have not received a raise in several years. In fact they will be getting paid less with the cost of healthcare going up etc.
Also, no one knew the tax money wasn't going to come just like every other businees and agency that was depending on it this year.
I love how you say the "teachers voted themselves raises." This is not true and in case you forgot the only people who can vote are winchester residents and tax payers. So that statement does not make much sense. Many tachers that work in the school are winchester residents and pay the same property taxes as you.
The budget committee took great caution in the fact the possibility that state funds might be curtailed, and it was reflected in their proposed budget. It seems to me that with the accumulated advanced degrees of the school administration, that they might have come to the same conclusion. Not so. The school system has not been responsible to the taxpayers with that attitude, and the piper will be paid for the dance. With federal cuts and state cuts about to kick in, it is time to do the same here. Fiscal frugality will save the education system, not the liberal, NEA endorsed social agenda that this town swears by. Can you spell BANKRUPT??
I don't think I would let the kids drink the water at the school, the bleach smell is so bad today 8/28 that you can't hardly make your self drink it. I know Puffer left the water dept a mess, but this need to be fixed.
9/9-- See what you mean, the bleach smell will knock you over today.
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