Here they go again. 

Last week, the Goffstown School Board lamented supposed "cuts" to their budget in light of the recent Town Vote.  In articles published in the Union Leader and The Goffstown News, words such as "trim", "slash" and "cuts" appeared everywhere, attributed to claims and statements made by school board chairman Keith Allard and SAU superintendent Stacy Buckley.

But there has been no cut to the school budget at all.  In fact, there has been a sizeable increase, to wit:

FACT: The 2008-2009 Goffstown School Board budget was $34,822,652. 
          They did not spend $1.25 million of it. 
          That means they spent $33.5 million.

FACT: The 2009-2010 Goffstown School Board budget is $34,660,647. 
          Allard announced on February 1st that he expects not to spend $610,000 of it.
          That means they will spend $34 million.

FACT: After Tuesday's vote, the 2010-2011 Goffstown School Board budget will be $35,627,392.
          That means an increase of $1 million over the current budget
          It also means an increase of $1.6 million over what Allard says will be spent this year.

So where is this "cut" Allard and Buckley are talking about?   There isn't one.  Rather, there has been a reduction to the $1.96 million INCREASE they originally wanted.  

No matter how Allard and Buckley try to spin it, they have $1 million more in their budget for next year than they do this year.  That's a fact.

It is important to remember that this is the same group who provided inaccurate tax rate information to The Goffstown News only five days before the Town Vote, making it impossible for the newspaper to correct before the voting took place.  That information painted a completely false picture as to the difference between the higher default budget - which Allard publicly supported and campaigned for - and the Budget Committee's recommended budget, and how it affected they affected the tax rate.  Fortunately, taxpayers were not fooled.

It's time for Goffstown's taxpayers to pay closer attention to exactly what our school board is up to.  Voters will get a harsh reminder of the need for this when we're all hit with the 13.84% increase in our taxes later this year. 

And let's not forget Allard's announcement at the school deliberative session that the school board will be returning $610,000 to the taxpayers at the end of the current fiscal year in June. 

Let's see if they follow through on that promise, or go on a last-minute spending spree in June - with OUR money.

Guy Caron can be reached via e-mail at: GuyC@GoffstownResidentsAssociation.com

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