January 23,
2009
EDITORIAL
For
School Board, Desperate Times Call For More Dirty
Tricks
After meeting
tactics, threats
and misuse
of email lists, Allard now attempts
to disqualify Budget Committee member Bill Gordon for
tonight's meeting; and school board member Hank
Boyle is appointed to replace Dick Fletcher on committee |
In a desperate attempt to
reverse the Budget Committee's Tuesday night decision to
reduce the school board's recommended budget by $1.5
million, school board chairman Keith Allard is once
again resorting to bully tactics and back room
maneuvering.
A day after the Budget Committee's decision, Allard
dispatched an email to committee chairman Dan Cloutier
which stated, "It has been brought to my attention that you were notified on the 19th that Bill Gordan is not a legal member of the budget committee. I have reviewed documents and rsa that appear to support this. I request that you immediately act upon this and notify the committee and affected boards."
Gordon sits on the Budget Committee representing the
Grasmere Village Water District. Allard's
contention is that since Gordon is not a commissioner,
he is not a legal member of the Budget Committee. Allard, who is himself
also an appointed member of the committee, said the illegal appointment of Gordon had “tainted” the budget committee process. He said the only recourse, at this point, is to redo the votes on the town and school budgets the committee did Tuesday.
What Allard really meant, of course, is that the only
way to reverse the committee's Tuesday night decision is
to resort to an 11th-hour act of desperation aimed
solely at regaining the cuts made by the committee to
the school board's already bloated budget and fleece
Goffstown taxpayers again this year.
Cloutier's response was direct and to the point.
His email to Allard states: "I have not been notified that Bill Gordon is not a legal member of the budget committee.
I am in receipt of an opinion by staff attorney Paul G. Sanderson of the Local Government Center concerning a matter that I did not request. I have attached that letter to this email.
My reading and interpretation of the statutes differs from that opinion and I have thus sought an opinion from the NH Attorney General's office. I have also asked for case law that supports attorney Sanderson's opinion and have yet to receive that information.
There is long standing history of individuals from the Grasmere Village Water District serving as appointed members of the budget committee that were not commissioners. I have also been told that Bill Gordon resides in that district and is an alternate commissioner of that District.
Unless and until I have been given confirmation by the NH Attorney General's Office supporting the opinion of LGC staff attorney Paul G. Sanderson or there is case law to support the LGC opinion, I do not believe it is within my authority to reject this appointment of Bill Gordon as the Grasmere Village Water District appointee to the Budget Committee." Allard's
sudden attempt to disqualify Gordon for the school
board's own gain would be laughable if it wasn't such a
serious breach of the public trust. Gordon has
been a dedicated servant to the Goffstown community and
has always acted in the best interests of
taxpayers. Allard, on the other hand, is again
acting in his own best interests with no regard
whatsoever to the financial plight of Goffstown
taxpayers.
MORE MANEUVERINGS
The GRA has also learned that the Goffstown
Village Water Precinct will "replace" Richard
Fletcher as their representative on the Budget Committee,
with alternate Henry Boyle.
Fletcher, whose term expires in March, is on vacation in
Florida. The alternate representative for the
precinct is Boyle.
Interestingly, Boyle is also a member of the Goffstown School
Board.
What a coincidence that is.
We urge all members of the community to attend tonight's
special meeting of the Budget Committee and show your
support for the following committee members who voted
Tuesday night to reduce the school budget
in the best interests of YOU, the taxpayer. They
are:
Dan
Cloutier, Chairman
Ivan Beliveau
Christi Garrison
Bill Gordon
John Hikel
Roxann Hunt
Roger Richard
Cathi Simard Thank
you to all eight of them for standing up for what they
believe is right and just in the face of unprofessional
belittling, public harassment and bully tactics that have become
so commonplace when anyone dares challenge the Goffstown
School Board.
RELATED
ARTICLE
• Union Leader article: "Allard
Says Budget Committee Member Not Legal"
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