To the Editor:

It is apparent to me the current school committee does not care about taxpayers in our town.  Witness the action at the deliberative session (of School District Meeting) of Feb 5.

The budget presented by the Budget Committee was a workable budget, a good compromise between both entities.  The budget would have resulted in no tax increase.  What happened?  The school committee increased the budget by $1.38 million.  This resulted in a budget going forward that, if passed on March 8th, will cost us, the taxpayers, and additional 99 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

The irony is, we the taxpayers, will still have to pay more.  How so you ask?  Should the budget presented in Article 2 fail on March 8, then the default budget, which is $36.37 million, will be the budget for 2011-2012.  This budget will cost us, the taxpayers, 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

I am at a loss to understand the thinking process of the current school committee on this issue.  What is so hard to understand is that they would have had a budget - granted, not all they wanted - that was fair and reasonable, and more importantly, carried with it no tax increase.  The school committee was so concerned that people might lose their jobs if a lower budget was voted in.  The school committee overwhelmingly demonstrated their lack of concern or empathy for the Goffstown taxpayers who might lose their homes if they are unable to pay their taxes because of the school committee's wanton desire to have the budget their way.

I ask the people of Goffstown to vote down Article 2 on March 8 and put the default budget in place; at least we can save some money.  It is obvious to me the school committee does not care about the taxpayers of Goffstown or to save us any money.

Benjamin H. Hampton
Goffstown