There are some that say when a person questions a school district budget, “wow” that person is trying to get rid of the schools. Very untrue. Asking questions is wanting accountability. Jan 24 at 6 p.m. the MVSD budget hearing was held. I could not justify driving to Penacook from Salisbury in freezing rain and 26 degrees, so watched it livestream. The drawback was I could not ask questions. The meeting could have been held the next night, but in my opinion the school board didn’t want too many of the public attending and asking questions about the 5.91% or $2,696,275 increase in the budget.

My questions would have been: How many millions of dollars has the school district received in the past four years from Esser I, II, III, and how was it spent? There is no transparency on how much and the utilization of these monies. Does our school board examine carefully the budget and thoroughly scrutinize it? Why did the school board vote to accept the union contract with the Merrimack Valley Administrators Association without having the actual contract to read before voting on it? Unacceptable. The school board schedules a public hearing on a budget at 6 p.m. Working people are returning home to their family. Bad time for a public hearing. More thought needs to be given to the taxpayer with transparency and a better time for an important only once a year budget hearing.

Louise Andrus

Salisbury