Reject Moving Amesbury Elementary and Fully Save Woodsom Farm!

 I am the only candidate that has fully come out in support of protecting Woodsom Farm's character and calling out the questionable process that has forced our community into a corner to vote yes or no for a new school site plan that does not appear to have grassroots community support. 

Not only will the character of Woodsom Farm be destroyed, but by forcing all elementary school traffic onto a small, dangerously curved section of Lions Mouth Road, it will be a traffic nightmare for that neighborhood. Plus, we will have to eliminate our beautifully maintained little league baseball park, which I'm sure many people in our community have fond memories of. I haven't even gotten to the financial implications and overall impact to the community. 

It is irresponsible to push this plan on the community without explaining in detail all the infrastructure requirements and costs of the new location, as well as what exactly would become of the old elementary school site. Plans for the existing school site should be provided to residents as well if you are promoting a move. We have example after example in our community of exactly this type of incomplete planning. We already have an existing old school site left to crumble in the community, which is damaging the neighborhood's value. 

Clarify the Annual School Budgeting Process and Push Harder for More State Funding

There are individuals in the community that have rightly pushed for more state funding for our schools, but where is city leadership on this to lead a coordinated effort? 

Everybody knows that the state has for years forced too much of the burden on the annual school budget on local communities. The bottom line is that for various reasons, the costs of education are exploding, but our state government has not stepped up to the plate to fully support our communities and schools. We need more school funding and much of it needs to come from a reprioritization at the state level. 

Still, much more can be done at our community level as well, starting with a more transparent and coordinated annual budgeting process. We need more input from front line teachers and expertise from our residents instead of overly relying on administration officials.