To The Daily Sun,
Congratulations to Patrick Hart and Eric Bernow for their victories in the Moultonborough School Board race. This is democracy in motion. I don't regret it, I applaud it. I thought I made a good case that the school budget was too high for the educational proficiency that our kids receive. Apparently, only 469 voters agreed. Superintendent Patrick Andrew and the school board convinced 679 teachers, staff, parents and others that I would be a disrupter. That is true. My stated goal was to bring English, math and science proficiencies up and costs per student down. Their goal is to retain the status quo. On Saturday, March 15, they will ask for another $1.2M for 13% raises across the board.
Do they deserve it? According to a recent contributor “Moultonborough should be ashamed educators are paid in the bottom 1/3 in the state”: tinyurl.com/bdex5jtk. The contributor didn’t include a link to support her claim so I searched the New Hampshire Department of Education and found this link: tinyurl.com/3336pm3n. The average teacher’s salary in Moultonborough is $67,138. There are 86 schools with lower salaries and 76 with higher salaries. So, that would put Moultonborough in the top 50% for salaries. Truth matters.
Speaking of truth, I need to correct my errors. I mistakenly claimed Moultonborough’s proficiency in ELA, math and science was below the NH state averages. That is not true according to Eric Bernow’s letter: tinyurl.com/mrybvks5. The percentages I used were the NH state “targets” not “averages”. Moultonborough is below the targets but above the averages. I apologize.
Finally, Moultonborough’s 2024 proficiency in math and science were 47% and 40% respectively. A third contributor, tinyurl.com/yc3amj3p, ignored the NHDOE results and claimed Moultonborough’s education was excellent, by referencing a U.S. News article. Who accredited U.S. News with national oversight? Truth is eternal, perception is temporary.
Bruce Jenket
Moultonborough
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