Ferry Beach trip will go to voters

[Lex]

Schools looking to steal some more of your money:

JAFFREY ? Jaffrey-Rindge Middle School?s trip to Ferry Beach isn?t in the plans for next school year ? but with support from district voters, it could be.

School board members voted Monday to make the trip a separate warrant article for residents to consider in March.

Jaffrey-Rindge classes have been making an annual trip to the Ferry Beach Ecology School in Maine for 30 years, but Principal Thomas J. Fitzgerald said he had to take the program out of the budget for next school year to cut costs.

The school?s population is growing quickly, he said, and students need new textbooks for social studies, math, science and music, not to mention a new 6th-grade teacher and a guidance counselor.

?I had to make a tough choice,? he said. ?Textbooks last for a whole year. ... That to me was a better way to use the money.?

School board member Timothy G. Derr of Rindge said the Ferry Beach program could help students learn what can?t be taught in textbooks, such as building relationships and friendships.

Board member Stephen C. Meyers of Jaffrey said the public should have a chance to vote on the value of the Ferry Beach trip, and said the budget shouldn?t be pushed higher by the expense for the program.

?I think it?ll pass overwhelmingly (in March),? he said.

The board voted 4-3 to allow voters to consider the item separately.

The board also heard Monday from Lawrence A. Murphy, principal of Conant High School, who said the school needs a new Spanish teacher and more electives.

After hearing from principals that they needed more teachers and textbooks, board member Daniel J. Whitney of Rindge proposed adding money to the budget proposal.

The current draft of the budget plan doesn?t include increases for new staff, supplies or programs, except in the special-education department.

Whitney said the budget proposal for the 2006-07 school year is 8 percent more than last school year, but that?s not enough to move the district forward.

Meyers didn?t agree.

?We?re talking about a double-digit increase in the taxes,? he said. ?We want to present a reasonable budget.?

Board member Jeffrey Clark-Kevan of Jaffrey said residents should decide whether the district needs to add new positions and programs.

?Sometimes we have to put it to the voters ... move ahead or stand still,? he said.

The board voted 5-2 to look over a new budget proposal with more money and the possible addition of teachers and textbooks.

The current draft of the operating budget stands at $20,044,028, while the default budget is $19,744,768.

Anna Haigh can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1434, or ahaigh@keenesentinel.com.

[Dreepa]

How about each student pays their own way?

My town has a ski trip and everyone has to pay their own way.  No tax money used.

[Kat Kanning]

How would that instill principles of getting a free ride from the government if everyone paid their own way?!?   

[Ron Helwig]

students learn what can?t be taught in textbooks, such as building relationships and friendships.

Yes, we certainly need government to teach children how to make friends 

[PinoX7]

I went on that trip years ago, They still had us pay some money. It was still fun to get out of school though