First off, this is not petty, this is me trying to let people know what the school is really going to cost them. I believe people should know and should be told. Why there are people all in a twist over this is quite the puzzle. I sometimes wonder if people care about these things. Forget the police station, that is a 2 year deal. The cost to the taxpayers will be more than $1.74 per thousand, if anyone takes the time to look at the paperwork that was handed out back on November 9, 2015, you will see that. What was printed and talked about was the fact the "new" high school should have been paid off in 2016 but the district reworked their debt so it got extended another 3 years. Now whatever the cost for that over 20 years was/is, 58 cents 60 cents or 85 cents, that will not be going away, as was said back in 1996. The plan is to keep that on and add another $1.74 per thousand, so if you take say 60 cents and add $1.74 together, that is probably the bare least you will be paying, about $2.34 per thousand. That is one of the things that is a bee in my bonnet, tell the truth and give the number what ever it is. Do not low ball just to get a yes vote. If people really want a school, they will pay whatever the cost. Do not forget everything else will be going up at least a little bit each year. Now remember who has been telling you that everything will be fine, everything is good. The town will have 750 thousand dollars in free cash, the audits will be done by January or February 2016 and the town will have a bond rating by June or July 2016. That is all on the record and was in the newspaper. Oh yeah, the FY 2017 budget is all set, balanced and proper with 56 thousand unallocated funds ta boot! So why are the selectmen not using those funds to cover that 87,500.00 boo boo? Why are they going after the little bit of savings the town has to cover that? So far, from the information from the town accountant, the money the town has received from MSBA appears to be around one million one hundred fifty thousand dollars. Now that information could be wrong but that is what I have seen so far covering from 2010 to 2016. That would be about 2.00 per thousand for one year to pay that back, if we are required to do so. Funny how that was not mentioned at the meeting nor the ballot question back in 2015, if you vote this down, we have to pay the money back. The Town did vote one million fifty in money for feasibility and design and some of that was paid from MSBA. Where was the "if this does not pass, we have to pay that money back? Sounds like scare tactics to me. Lastly, back in 1974, before the new addition at gannsett, there were about 900 kids in that building which was about half the size it is now and we seemed to be fine back then so what is the problem now with 800 or 900 kids in there? Just asking a question.

posted by Jeff Bennett